Spend enough time outside, and you’re likely to see at least one thing you can’t explain.
While some of us spend our lazy days staring at the computer, others are venturing outdoors—and getting the pants scared off of them in the process. Whether it’s monsters, angels, ghost cars, or some other unexplained phenomenon, the folks who dare go outdoors are finding enough spooky stuff to make any homebody happy with their decision to stay in the A/C.
Now, a user on TikTok says she’s encountered something strange in the woods. How can this waterfall even exist?
How Is This Possible?
In a video with over 8.7 million views, TikTok user Kat (@nexusco) shows a waterfall that doesn’t appear to make sense. The waterfall is located in Lamb’s Canyon near Salt Lake City, Utah.
“My brain is not comprehending this because the creek is down here, and there’s a waterfall coming back there—but it literally looks like it’s coming from the log,” she starts.
She shows the waterfall. As she says, it really does appear that there’s a waterfall coming from a log. However, there’s no stream or river behind the log; it’s just floating in mid-air with water pouring out from its top.
“There’s no water flowing into that log to fall down, so where is that water coming from?” she asks. “Am I crazy?”
The Investigation Begins
The TikToker later posted a follow-up video investigating the waterfall. To start, she says she didn’t look further in the previous video because doing so would involve hiking through treacherous terrain. Now, however, she says she’s prepared to do so.
After a significant and difficult stretch, which included an accident in which Kat’s partner fell off a log and became injured, the pair reached the log. Around it is evidence that someone has spent a significant amount of time there, including a chair and a backpack.
Upon taking a closer look at the “waterfall,” they see what it really is. Instead of a natural formation, the pair sees a PVC pipe running water into a suspended tarp. As the tarp overflows, it pours water over the edge of the tree. This creates the illusion shown in Kat’s original video.
“We got it figured out,” Kat declares.
But Why Is This Here?
Even though Kat figured out how this was happening, many commenters were curious about the “why” part of it. Simply put, who would create an optical illusion waterfall in the middle of a difficult-to-reach part of the woods? And for what purpose?
In response to this question, many users speculated that this was a makeshift shower or running water station for someone who was living or spending a significant amount of time in the area.
“Someone is def squatting there. Thats probably their shower. Pretty genius actually,” wrote a user.
“My dad is homeless, he sets up things like this all the time so he can have drinkable and bathe-able water,” offered another. “Pretty unique and cool things ppl do for survival.”
As there’s little information online about this specific feature, no one can be sure as to why this was constructed. That said, the shower theory isn’t far-fetched.
Do People Really Do This?
If you’re camping or spending a lot of time outside, it’s not uncommon to try to fashion a shower out of anything you’ve got lying around.
Some solutions involve pumps, batteries, and heaters. Others involve simply gravity, allowing a receptacle to be filled with water, then slowly released to create a shower-like experience.
These are common sights at places where unhoused people set up camps. Reports from larger encampments note that they can occasionally feature gravity showers fed with suspended water tanks.
While these may be effective, they’re occasionally illegal. The Salt Lake City government website notes that backcountry camping is not allowed in Lambs, where the TikToker filmed her video. Additionally, if the water is truly being used as a shower, it may go against the city’s rules regarding what can be done within its watershed.
Still, it’s an impressive feat—and seeing it from afar may make someone question their sanity.
@nexusco someone please explain bc I can’t stop thinking about what I saw walking in Lambs Canyon. There are some chairs placed at the bottom of it and like a makeshift trail/bridge over to it as well but it’s super overgrown and I think that trail and stuff is coming from a house/private property nearby so I didn’t wanna walk all the way over to it, but I literally cannot tell if maybe they dug out that log to make it poor like that I have no idea. #saltlakecity #waterfall #opticalillusion
BroBible reached out to Kat via TikTok direct message and comment.