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(CNN) -- Those who were old enough had to walk across the border -- even the small children, no matter how young they were, no matter how tired they felt. Mothers' arms may have been reserved for their youngest babies, but their hands were filled with whatever possessions they could carry.

For the Syrians who'd made the treacherous nighttime escape into northern Jordan, this was only the beginning. Once outside Syria, they were led to safety by a member of the Jordanian Border Guard tasked with protecting them.

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Just a few meters away from their homeland, with sounds of shelling still in the distance, the war weary climbed a hill. But there were no lights to illuminate the rocky path. They were still too close, and it was far too dangerous.

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According to Jordan's Border Guard, which gave CNN exclusive access to the area, in the past two weeks, many fleeing families had been shot at and several people had been injured while trying to cross.

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On this cold night, the number of wounded was far fewer. Many of the adults were relieved, but most of the children were simply stunned.

One man, who'd arrived with his wife and five children, detailed the high price of this pilgrimage -- one he was all too willing to pay.

"All we were able to bring with us were the clothes on our backs and the clothes we were able to pack in this bag," he said. "Everything else is back in Syria, but the security situation there is terrible. We can't return."

Most of those who made the extremely risky journey on this night were women and children. Some had walked for hours, others for days, coming from cities as close as Daraa and as far as Aleppo. Many were too afraid to share their names or appear on camera, for fear of reprisal or that relatives back home would be targeted.

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Close by, in the back of a Jordanian ambulance sat an 80-year-old woman who'd been carried across the border. She hated leaving home but had no choice, recounting how several members of her family had been killed in just a few days' time.

"The first day, they killed my nephew," she said, her voice brimming with anger at a regime she despised.

"The second day, they killed my niece. Third day, my cousin. Fourth day, another cousin. Four days, and every day a killing."

The United Nations estimates at least 60,000 people have died in 22 months of fighting between government forces and rebels seeking to depose President Bashar al-Assad. Now, Syrians are crossing into Jordan in record numbers, with at least 350,000 refugees having flowed into Jordan since the beginning of the conflict in Syria.

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Since the beginning of 2013, at least 40,000 have arrived. In the past week, more than 20,000 have arrived, Jordanian government officials say.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh described the numbers as "staggering."

"This is obviously a reflection of the level of violence in southern Syria, and there will probably be more in the next few days," he said last week. "We are getting aid -- we are getting aid from Arab countries, from Western countries, from international organizations. It is still not enough, given the numbers that are coming in."

On Monday, Oxfam launched a 12 million-pound ($18.9 million) emergency appeal to help up to 120,000 Syrians.

"In Jordan alone, there has been a threefold increase in the daily rate of people crossing from Syria in the last week," said a statement from the aid agency, which added that "extreme winter weather was compounding misery for refugees, with an increase in respiratory infections and pneumonia recorded in clinics in Lebanon and Jordan."

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Last week, the International Rescue Committee warned of a "protracted humanitarian emergency" in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq, which have absorbed about 600,000 Syrian refugees since the conflict began.

As soldiers on the Jordanian side of the border were processing their papers and distributing food, many of the refugees were ushered into a tent. Some shivering children, wrapped in blankets, were too tired to eat. Their parents recounted harrowing experiences.

"My daughter is 2 months old," one woman said. "Don't you think it was extremely difficult on this child to walk with her here in this cold?"

Another mother explained the journey they took: "When we first got on the road, it was extremely scary. I mean, we saw death all around," she said.

Jordan's Border Guard tells CNN that the border will remain open but that the exodus from southern Syria has severely taxed resources.

"It takes a huge effort to mobilize this response right now," said Brig. Gen Hussein al-Zuyud, commander of the Border Guard. "We're in winter, and that makes it even more difficult."

"On the front lines, at the crossing points, there are times when we have to stay with the refugees for 48 hours," al-Zuyud said, "which requires logistical tools and supplies, heating supplies, and blankets -- and all this is an added burden on us."

As they were loaded onto buses that would take them to their new home, most of the families were simply happy for a respite. Next stop for them would be the Zaatari Camp, outside Amman, which already houses around 80,000 of their fellow citizens. Having left war-ravaged homes and tattered belongings behind, they were ready for a new start, no matter how temporary. Even a tent would be better than the alternative.

"There's nothing we weren't hit by," said one woman, whose voice welled with emotion when describing the trauma of just trying to survive back in Syria. "Rockets, barrel bombs, warplanes -- the shells were falling on us like rain."