Caribou on the run

No the Christmas photo of the reindeer (caribou) was not taken in Tucson. I was on a winter trip up to Alberta to look for caribou. A combination of warming and development have pushed caribou a hundred miles north of Banff in Alberta. On my way, I stopped in Wells Grey, British Columbia, a favorite place which I talk about someday. I slept in the back of my truck; awoke in the morning, went to brush my teeth, and the toothpaste was frozen. In fact, everything was frozen -- except what I had put in the ice chest. The ice chest, even with ice in it, acted as an insulator from the cold. It was minus eleven degrees. Anyway, I finally reached my destination in Jasper National Park and was driving up to Medicine and Maligne Lakes where I had seen caribou before. When I got to the frozen, snow covered Medicine Lake I saw seven caribou out in the middle; maybe 300 yards away. So, I stopped the truck, got out, grabbed  my camera and tripod, and slid down the embankment (not intentionally) and on to the lake. I was still much to far away for a photograph. So, I walked out on the lake a hundred and fifty yards or so, thinking that was a safe distance. I set up my tripod and started taking photos. Soon the caribou started running parallel to me (the photo from Christmas). But, then, all of a sudden, the bull turns (as do the others) and starts running straight towards me. That's the photo above. I realized that I am not going to out run the caribou, especially in the snow. But, once they got 50 yards from me they stopped. I took a few more photos, said thank you to them, turned, and trudged back through the snow and up the embankment. By the time I reached the truck I was dripping with sweat. You see the temperature had risen to minus 7 degrees.