As the old saying goes, it's easier to go up than down. This sentence has a certain experience for people who have climbed the mountain, but if you talk about the degree of experience, it may be very different.

For example, now I know exactly what it means to be "hard to go down". Although the guide had repeatedly warned us that the descent would be difficult, when we started to descend, the trail gave us a dismount.

As he walked sideways through a steep mountain road, one of Said's team, who didn't know whether it was a slippage under his feet, a distraction that caused him to step on an empty foot, or a strong mountain wind that made him lose his balance for a moment, and in a burst of rubble and an exclamation, the man next to him grabbed his backpack and didn't let him roll down.

"Damn. Don't you have long ears? I tell you to be careful, do you want me to carry you away? The guide stopped and whispered to this side.

We have no one to talk to, let alone argue. Because everyone could see the danger just now, although it was not a fall here, it was also not a good end to roll down this steep hillside, who knows what is on the dark hillside below? Maybe there are several raised stones in the middle, and hitting them can directly injure or even kill them, and then down? Maybe it's a cliff-like place...

Seeing that no one of us was silent, the guide stopped talking, and after once again stressing the need to be careful, he continued to walk forward. We hurried to follow one by one, and now we have the spirit of 12 or even 120 points, and we are carefully following step by step. This keeps us from having the same accidents as before, but at the same time it brings other problems, that is, we are walking slower and slower, and the high state of tension makes our physical strength deplete quickly. Especially when going down, you always have to tense your muscles to reduce your speed to prevent yourself from losing control, it's like always carrying brakes on the downhill road, the brake pads will quickly overheat, and what about people? Legs quickly become stiff and tired.

"Don't worry. Slow down and watch where I'm going. The guide knew we weren't him, and he could slow down on some roads and whisper to us, "Take that old fellow." If someone really can't hold on and speak, don't be a hero, I don't need a hero here, I just need to be safe. ”

After walking for more than an hour on such a difficult road, the slope of the descent gradually became more relaxed. The guide walked noticeably faster, and after walking for another twenty minutes or so, we entered a forest, and it was estimated that the guide sensed that our group was already tired, and he slowly stopped, "Let's rest here for a while." Put down your legs, and everyone massage each other, and don't let the muscles there strike, or you will be even more uncomfortable on the road below. Remember not to talk casually. ”

After the guide had finished his instructions, he continued to walk some distance into the woods, and then looked down the mountain. I put the backpack off my back and moved my shoulders on both sides, feeling a little lighter, and the wind here was not as strong as outside, although the trees in the forest did not have lush leaves, after all, the season was not yet here, but it somewhat blocked out the cold and dry mountain wind. Instead of sitting down to rest, I slowly walked over to the guide.

The guide heard the movement and looked at me, as if he knew what I was going to ask, and before I could speak, he said, "Across this forest is Afghanistan, and beyond this forest is a small Afghan village. There I may meet people from the Northern Union and even Americans. ”

I looked at him and whispered, "Are they there?" ”

"It's not. It's just that such a remote place often hides some people they are interested in. So they would often search these places, and by the way, ask the people here if there were any suspicious people or strangers who appeared and passed by. The guide replied.

"Will these people tell them? Don't have any scruples at all? Aren't you afraid that someone will come back for revenge? I asked.

The guide sneered and said, "I'm afraid." Of course I'm afraid. But that was in the beginning, and now there are fewer and fewer people who are afraid. Because more and more people know that they can't beat the Yankees, they can't come back. He looked around, "Okay." Let's go and keep walking. We had to make our way through the woods and around the village. Then we can have breakfast and have a good rest. “

We picked up our respective backpacks again, and after a quick check on one side we followed

Walked through the woods for a while. This section of the road is much easier than before, the ground is no longer smooth and hard, and there is a feeling of softness in some places, which may be just an illusion that the road was too difficult to walk before, but at least the soles of the feet are much more comfortable than before.

It took us about half an hour to pass through the woods, and when we reached the edge of the woods, the guide stopped, looked southwest, and led us out at a faster pace. I couldn't see the village in the dark, it was completely different from the towns and villages we usually knew, there were no lights at all, nothing at all, it was just pitch black, as if it was still about the same mountain field as I was.

But judging from the direction chosen by the guide, this is not the case at all, there should be a village over there. And just as we had run out of the woods some distance, the barking of dogs was heard from the southwest.

The guide did not stop, nor did he speak, but continued to keep moving forward. I looked back from time to time in the direction where the dog barked from, and there was still no light on, I don't know if the people there were too lazy to care, or didn't dare to turn on the lights casually, anyway, the dog barked very happily but there was no human movement.

After thirty or forty minutes of continuous walking, and after another hike on the mountain, we stopped. The guide didn't speak, but simply found a place to sit down, and then let out a long sigh of relief. He took out his water bag and poured himself a few sips of water, and then after his breathing stabilized, he looked at us who were still standing in the middle and surrounded the old guy on all sides, and said, "Are you guys posing?" Alright, let's all rest. It should be safe here. ”

I was also relieved to hear him say that. After sitting down, the old guy Younis said dissatisfied: "This is a safe place in Afghanistan?" Where are our contacts? “

"Safety? You actually say safe in this country? I can answer you responsibly, no. No place is safe, and even if you hide in your own home, you can be killed. The guide said and poured another saliva, "As for your contact, wait, we still have a long way to go after dawn." “