Alpha moved out of the bamboo thicket, across paths, trails, roads. They moved generally south, generally up, ascending toward a knoll on the side of Hill 636. FO called in a random pattern artillery barrage in the path of their advance, clearing their way, and a sweep of rounds exploding in the trail behind them to close off their rear. They moved slowly, climbed cautiously yet steadily. Under no circumstance did the L-T or any of them want to delay resupply. They pushed on without stopping. They crossed through elephant grass and into brush. Over the mounds they went and to the base of the cliffs. They were two kilometers farther east in the valley than they had been on their original descent. The cliffs here were bluffs and with their half-empty rucks they climbed easily. With each step
