A man is thankful to be alive after surviving a near-death experience in the Alaskan wilderness earlier this month.
Craig Johnson was travelling through the icy tundra alone when his snowmobile fell through the ice on December 15. He fought for his life for three days before he was rescued, reports ABC,
The 38-year-old was about halfway through an 80-mile hike to his family's home when tragedy struck. He knew he was in trouble when he felt his vehicle crack through the icy ground.
"Everything just happened so fast," Johnson told ABC News.
He fought to get to steady ground then walked for 30 miles, looking for help. Meanwhile, a wolverine was on his trail.
"You could hear it on the ice, just playing with me, toying with me," Johnson recounted. Warning shots failed to scare the animal off, so he picked up a stick to defend himself if the wolverine came closer.
Search and rescue teams were dispatched by Johnson's family, but failed to spot him. Johnson alternated between taking shelter in a wooden box and trying to flag down the helicopters that flew over him.
"That third night when they passed right by me – not even 200, 300 yards – that's when I lost hope," he admitted. "I just laid back down in that box I was in. It just felt like that was an open grave for me."
Another search team, led by Johnson's cousin, Clifford Benson, was not ready to give up, however.
"It doesn't matter the conditions, I had to go," Benson said. "That's my cousin." The temperature had dropped to negative 35 degrees, and the wind and snow had covered all of Johnson's tracks, but Benson heard his cousin screaming.
"I've never heard someone yell like that anywhere," he said.
The team found Johnson, and took him to safety. He was treated for frostbite, but said that things could have ended very differently.
"If Clifford didn't saw me, that was going to be my last night," said Johnson. "They were going to bring me home in a body bag.
"I almost gave up... But I couldn't give up," he continued. "I had to do it for my boys, my family. I think it's a miracle that I'm alive."
Johnson was also driven by thoughts of his father, who fell through the ice and drowned in 1998.
