If sci-fi and fantasy movies have taught us anything, it’s to stay away from mysterious doors. However, for one TikToker, her curiosity got the better of her after encountering a strange door in the middle of nowhere.
The video, which has garnered 1.3 million views, began with Lainie (@lainielouuu) pointing a camera at an open door in the far distance. It is surrounded by greenery and seems to be part of the mountain.
“What is that?” she asks. “What is that? I wanna go in there. We’re going in there.”
As she says this, the video shows a door in the distance surrounded by greenery in the mountain.
The camera then cuts to her embarking on her voyage.
“All right guys, we’re on the mission to the door in the middle of the mountain,” she says. “We’re figuring it out together as we go.”
As she climbs over rocks, she adds, “See the scrambling we’re having to do right now?”
Once she passes the rocks, the next obstacle is to cross the river and avoid the poison ivy.
She crosses the river with a plank of wood. “And we made it back on stable ground,” she continues, now walking on a path.
What Happens Next?
She then points the camera to other people nearer to the mountain, who are presumably part of the same hike as her. It is unclear whether they are with her.
“There they are,” she said. “They’re trying to figure out which route to climb.”
She then arrives at a white cross on the ground and happily declares, “X marks the spot!”
She then pans the camera to the door again. “We can see it,” she says, “It’s within reach.”
The camera then cuts again to her approaching the door, where she admits that it’s “definitely not as cool coming up to it.”
“I don’t know what the hell we’re about to encounter,” she admits.
The door itself, which is open, is part of a very small, narrow, and simple brick building.
Then, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for, as she finally approaches the inside.
What she finds is a toilet.
“Ew,” she says.
BroBible reached out to Lainie via Instagram direct message.
What Did Commenters Say About The Secret Door?
Commenters were thoroughly amused by the discovery.
“White people just be doin s—,” one wrote.
“How the heck are ya supposed to use that?” a second asked. “I’m picturing it and laughing my a– off.”
Additionally, a third remarked: “All that for a toilet. Wow, I bet you were disappointed.”
“I knew it was a bathroom from that far away I just didn’t believe in myself and now I wasted my time,” a fourth despaired.
Meanwhile, a fifth commented, “Random AF. “At least you can take a crud in comfort while you’re lost in the wilderness.”
And a sixth said: “Wish I knew the real story behind this. The curiosity is killing me.”
@lainielouuu A mysterious door in the middle of nowhere 🚪 #adventure #narnia #wtf #nature #mystery
Why Is There A Toilet Here?
As one commenter correctly pointed out, this toilet is a pit toilet placed in the Owens’ River Gorge. “Fun story…” the commenter added. “My buddy was carried out of there on that stretcher.”
Lainie replied, “First person to know where this is!”
As pointed out by Trail Runner Magazine, if human waste and other toilet-related trash are left to pile up on hiking trails, this can lead to “serious issues” like influencing the behavior of wildlife, vegetation impacts, and water and soil contamination. The outlet also notes that poor hygiene practices on trails can lead to illness or infection. With this in mind, it’s easy to see why toilets are commonly constructed on hiking trails.
As for Owens’ River Gorge’s toilet specifically, the Bishop Climbers’ Coalition website claims that it was James Wilson, the first owner of what is now Eastside Sports, who came up with the idea of Gorge toilets.
Moreover, June Lake contractor Dean Rosnau reportedly oversaw the labor and construction of the facilities. The site notes that he even found the bricks, vaults, and toilets for “bargain basement prices.” The crane that carried and placed the vaults was volunteered by Mammoth Mountain after Rosnau’s intervention.
As for the funding, the website says that funding came from The Access Fund and Eastside Sports’ “Chalk Tax.”
Homeowners Find Secret ‘Portal’
This isn’t the first time somebody has stumbled across a hidden door. Previously, BroBible reported on how, during their search for a circuit breaker, two homeowners came across something completely unexpected.
In a viral TikTok documenting the moment, user Savanna (@savanna.alley) begins by showing herself and her partner in their bathroom. Bizarrely, right above the toilet is a door. When they open the door, they see an insulated staircase.
The couple made it clear that they didn’t want to go any further after discovering this secret.
“Go up there!” Savanna tells her partner, who replies, “F— that s—.”
Savanna adds in the TikTok caption: “I thought my circuit breaker was there, but we found a portal to hell instead.”