Quote:
Don't bet your life on it.
Did you read any of the stories at the link Alaska444 provided?
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Despite the stories being gruesome, such cat attacks are exceptionally rare. They make big news when they occur and the actual threat level gets blown way out of proportion. Folks are a many times more likely to be shot by a hunter than they are to be attacked by a cat and hunting season isn't 24/7/365 like hiking, camping, trail riding and such is. As Art noted, adults are attacked very infrequently. If you do read the stories, then note that many of the adults who are attacked are engaged in activities that exacerbate the issue. Several have been hurt trying to protect children and pets, essentially engaged in fighting the cat for what the cat perceives as his food. The adults were not the intended targets of an attack, but interjected themselves into the situation. Of the human adults that are attacks, some are down on the ground as Art noted, spy the cat and the take flight (activating the chase response in the cat), somehow manage to surprise the cat via a chance encounter, or have food that has attracted the cat to their location and hence the confrontation occurs.
If you go to the associated link and read about all the non-attack encounters, the information is probably more helpful. Many people engaged in activities once realizing a cat was present that helped the cat to feel unwelcome. Note that lots of people apparently get stalked by the cats. I have a buddy who is a photographer that is one of them and has a picture of his boot print overlain by a mountain lion print that was less than 10 minutes old. Cats are curious and will follow people around and observe.
However if an attack does come and you haven't already seen the cat, then expect it to be from behind, which is hard to expect if you don't know the cat is there or that you are about to be attacked.