 Item Number – SCP-778 Object Class – Euclid Special Containment Procedures – SCP-778 is particularly dangerous, in that it is immobile and centered in data-expunged national park, which is frequented by civilians. These or public documents displaying maps of or mentioning the existence of SCP-778 are to be erased, destroyed, or rewritten as necessary. Public awareness of SCP-778 must be avoided as much as possible. Placing signs over the trailhead marking it is closed and dangerous have been found effective, and is to remain in place. Two undercover agents are to be located within the park at all times. To monitor civilian access to or awareness of SCP-778, these measures should be effective in deterring civilians from contact with SCP-778. Description – SCP-778 is an area of land of undetermined size located in Euclid National Park. SCP-778 is currently defined on all maps, signs, and other media representing it as a hiking trail leading to a destination known as Paradise Falls. Whether Paradise Falls exists is currently unknown and perhaps unknowable. SCP-778 is constructed normally for trails in the area and is labeled normally at the trailhead and at irregular intervals along its length. None of this is anomalous for trails in the area. However, SCP-778 is extremely topographically inconsistent and potentially dangerous to civilians. Instead of leading to Paradise Falls, SCP-778 will instantly to other areas of the park or on winding inconsistent paths around the area. SCP-778 is generally located in only one area of the park, although it varies from exploration to exploration. Ecologically and geologically, the area surrounding SCP-778 is consistent with that of the park. A river running through the area may be part of Paradise Falls, although the river is difficult to follow and may be topographically inconsistent as well. In addition, visitors hiking on SCP-778 have reported hearing the sound of rushing water, consistent with that of a waterfall, although in all cases, the trail soon veers away from the assumed location of the waterfall. SCP-778 also appears to regenerate somewhat regularly, usually every 10 to 25 years. When it does, its name will change. It will shift to another area of the park, and all park maps and signs will change to reflect this. For a known history of SCP-778's changes, please see document 778-130. For a record of tests performed in order to reveal the nature of SCP-778, please see experiment log 778. Experiment log 778. A record of explorations of SCP-778. Test 1. Three agents with two-way radios and standard day hike supplies, instructed to follow SCP-778 until the trail ended. Result. Sound of waterfall not heard. Trail ended after 7.6 kilometers, in an area of the park not reachable within that distance. Nothing unusual reported along the trail. Test 2. Three agents with two-way radios and standard day hike supplies, instructed to follow SCP-778 until the trail ended. Result. Sound of waterfall heard. Trail did not end. After 12 kilometers, agents were allowed to return. Although it arrived in the same place, the trail back was reported as different from the trail they had came in on, and required uphill travel in both directions. Test 3. Three agents equipped with GPS tracking devices instructed to follow SCP-778 until the trail ended. Result. Agents recorded inconsistent movement within the park, at times moving much faster or slower than normal. Agents reported no anomalies, and moved at a normal pace, arriving on a road approximately 20 kilometers away from the entrance site. Sound of waterfall noted. Test 4. Three agents dispatched to the road where SCP-778 ended after Test 3, instructed to follow it back. Area completely grown over. No sign of trail. Test 5. Three agents with two-way radios and standard day hike supplies instructed to follow SCP-778 until the sound of waterfall was heard, then to travel off trail until the source of the noise was reached. Result. Waterfall noises heard at 4.2 kilometers. Everything was immediately made very difficult by the presence of large shrubs and trees. Agents persisted using knives to cut down vegetation, until encountering several large footprints. Resembling, data expunged. Upon noticing several large shapes moving in vegetation in the distance, possibly data expunged, agents immediately returned to the trail, and back to the starting point without any problems. Test 6. Three agents with overnight backpacking supplies and equipped with semi-automatic weapons instructed to follow SCP-778 until the sound of waterfall was heard, then to travel off trail until the source of the noise was reached. Result. Waterfall noises heard at 15.9 kilometers. Heavy cloud cover at night made exploration and oral detection difficult, and teams soon lost both the source of the noises and the trail. Last radio transmission stated that they were going to set up camp for the night in an unknown clearing at the edge of some sort of field, before radios were switched off for the night. Radio was, apparently, never turned back on. Communications operator at the base noted the sound of wolf-like howling in the distance, although wolves are not native to the area, and this was never mentioned, and possibly never noticed, in the transmission. All attempts to recover the team have failed. Note. Recommended that unless the situation changes, all off-trail exploration of SCP-778 be done by class Ds or by solo agents to avoid excessive loss of personnel should this happen again. Test 7. One agent with two-way radio, standard dayhike equipment, and radio-transmitting helmet-mounted camera was instructed to follow SCP-778 until the sound of waterfalls was heard, then to travel off trail until the source of the noise was reached. Noted that there was a dense fog that day, that made vision beyond approximately thirty meters impossible. Result. Waterfall noises never heard. Agent noted that the trail seemed to continue up a very steep rocky alpine meadow, and was hard to see. Instructed to continue. Agent began climbing, and became distracted and unresponsive, noting that the trail just goes up and up and up. Contact lost. And log. Addendum 778A. An attempt was made to destroy SCP-778, with the use of multiple class D personnel, machinery, and common tools. Over twenty kilometers of trail were destroyed, passed off as winter flood and storm damage, or disappeared. Seven months later, the trail reappeared in a different location, under the name Paradise Falls. Given the effort needed to destroy that much trail, and the utter failure of the attempt, total destruction of SCP-778 is not recommended again. Document 778-130. List of known previous incarnations of SCP-778. Initial recovery in Eld Fenn. Nightfall Pond. Fox Lake. Cedar Point. Western Ridge. Present, Paradise Falls. Lesson complete. If you missed the previous orientation, go watch SCP-777, Kingdom of Sand, right now. Or for the complete course, watch this playlist.