GRAND LEDGE, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan hunter who lived totell the tale of his harrowing week in the
Alaskan wilderness hasattributed his survival to luck, guile and faith.Adrian Knoppswas stranded with no
food, shelter or warm clothes. He wassleep-deprived, hallucinating and slipping into hypothermia.Resigned
that he would die, the 51-year-old electrician from Grand Ledge carved a farewell message on his rifle and
collapsed.That’s when a Coast Guard helicopter came to his rescue."It probably was the most wonderful
sound I ever heard," he told The Detroit News (http://bit.ly/1e7HIGY ).Knopps was stranded for seven
days in September after his hunting partner, Garrett Hagen, drowned while boarding their boat.Knopps,who
shared a river delta with bears and wolves, was pelted by rain theentire time, including a storm that packed
70-mph winds. Because of thewet conditions, he rarely sat or lay down, sleeping three hours allweek. During
high tide, Knopps clutched the upright roots of anoverturned tree while surrounded by a mile of water in all
directions."You try to live one moment at a time and do what you have to," he said.A Coast Guard
official said it was remarkable that Knopps made it out alive."It’sa testament to the human will to
live," said Cmdr. Pete Melnick,operations officer at the Coast Guard Air Station in Sitka.Knopps, a
longtime hunter who grew up in the Upper Peninsula, said he never felt alone, talking aloud to God the whole
time.He also thought about his wife, two grown sons and granddaughter.Using a hunting knife, he carved a
message on the stock and butt of his rifle.It read: "A. Knopps stuck on river tidal flat for 5 days.
Cold wet no food."Hehung the rifle on the branch of another toppled tree. If he died,Knopps hoped it
would be found by a hunter who would pass it along tohis family.Knopps still has nerve damage that is
expected to last for months. He can’t walk very far without resting.Butthat hasn’t stopped him from
returning to the wilderness. Two monthsafter his rescue, he went on an annual hunting trip with his brother
andbrother-in-law."I love hunting. I love the woods," he said. "I can’t just stop doing the
things I really like in life."___Information from: The Detroit News, http://detnews.com/Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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