Bait

I can't stop thinking about the cougar. Been watching videos on how they hunt and how they kill. I'm 6'2 and not really a small guy. So why would this puma target me in broad daylight.
I was only just back on the road, with only two hours sleep the night before, so by the time I got to that bridge, I was exhausted, walking more miles than i should have. And though my ankle was feeling better, a muscle in my thigh was aching so I was limping somewhat. I was alone, and probably looked like wounded prey. I think I was a target of opportunity, and where I was sitting on the guardrail/bridge, could have been easily knocked over into the underside of the bridge.
It would have happened quickly, had the van not been there. I would be laying at the bottom of the bridge, thinking "what the heck is happening?", while the cougar had his jaw around my neck, squeezing the life out of me.
Then I start thinking, what can I do to protect myself? Be super aware at all times? What about camping? what about eating, or really anything for that matter. There's tall grass everywhere, 2-3 feet in most cases.i would never see it coming. Maybe a suit of armor would do the trick, maybe an animal would provide an early warning, and maybe not.
A pumas range is 370 miles, so it's a very small chance of encountering one again.  But one is really too many times for a city boy like me.
I was very very lucky! God was watching over me. Down the road,  I'm sure it will be a great story.  Right now I'm just very aware of how close I came to being cat food.
It's weird. Right after it happened, I felt calm and unworried. Maybe I was just so tired,  but I also felt the presence of God, as I do on the walk. It was after walking away that i started to get concerned.
I have lived a pretty safe life, and with the exception of a car accident, have never come close to death that I know of. But this, this was a primal kind if near death experience on a completely rational and then emotional level. Now, there's not fear, being safely indoors. But there is an intense awareness.