A video of a woman’s “ethereal” encounter with a marmot during a hike has left the internet in tears.
The clip was posted by TikTok user Solo Outdoorsy Girl (@pnwrainier) and has amassed 2.9 million views since it was first shared on August 5. The footage was captured at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state, according to a location shared with the post.
A message overlaid on the video reads: “I just know my mom was doing her thing from heaven when this marmot guided me to a waterfall.”
The footage shows a marmot—a giant ground squirrel typically found in North America as well as in Europe and Asia—walking ahead on a pathway against a mountain backdrop.
The rodent appears to stop in its tracks once it reaches the edge of a rock cliff. The camera then pans towards the right to reveal a waterfall in the distance, streaming down from the side of a rock face. The …