The panic got to me. I took off running towards the tree line. I heard the creature's feet pound the eath behind me. I didn't know where to go or what to do. In retrospect the best thing to do would have been to play dead. Each tree in front of me looked like the last. A large dark mass in front of me.          I thought at one point that I had gained ground. I turned to look behind me only to see the creature thirty feet behind me. I ran faster. The cold still bitting at my face and I was starting to suffer due to the lack of water. My hiking boots were not ideal for running and I could feel myself slowly being dragged down by the lack of energy. I was coming back on to the river after dodging trees and trying to find a place to hide.         The river was full of rapids at this point. I tried to weigh my options. I knew that I could not run forever and needed some way to escape this creature behind me. I also thought about hiding behind a tree once I felt I was far enough away from the animal. Jumping into the river was danagerous because of the rapids. There was a high chance of drowning. Hiding behind a tree was risky also. If I was seen hiding it would be the end of me. I had to make a choice. The river was just a few hundred feet in front of  me.