I set up camp on a beach on the Lost Coast. Then a puma appeared

It was 1996, and while traveling along the Lost Coast in the far north of California, my boyfriend and I were camping without a tent on the beach. We had been to Yosemite and a few other places, but we had just arrived.

We took this road that goes up and through the Lost Coast area. We finally made it to Shelter Cove and the black sand is just amazing. The redwoods go down directly into the water.

Between a Rock is a Los Angeles Times series sharing stories of survival in the California wilderness.

We saw the signs warning about mountain lions, but for some reason we thought that since we were close to the ocean and other houses in the small town, it was safer.

I'm originally from Pennsylvania, in the south central Harrisburg area. Pennsylvania also has tons of cougars. I had woods behind my house. I had them in my backyard. It all happened in my backyard.

I came to California in 1988 and have lived most of my adult life in California. I generally didn't see wildlife except groundhogs (which are annoying) and I tend to go to trails where I don't see people because I try to stay away from people. You will rarely have an encounter with a cat. That's really weird.

I said, “What? “It's the beach.”

We left our suitcases in the sand some distance from the road, going up the beach and at the foot of some cliffs. We often did that. I just went anywhere. We thought, 'Oh, we'll just camp here for the night.'

I woke up in the middle of the night, in that part between sleep and wakefulness, to what sounded like a cat coughing up a hairball. I shined a flashlight at the top of the cliff above us, where the redwood forest began.

I woke up in the middle of the night, in that part between sleep and wakefulness, to what sounded like a cat coughing up a hairball.

There was a mountain lion stalking us, pacing back and forth, its head and eyes fixed on us below, like literal pigs in a blanket. My blood ran cold.

I woke up Steve, my partner, and in a panic said, “There's a cat! We are so dead!

I knew we couldn't run away. That would make the whole situation worse. We didn't have any weapons and I thought, 'Wow, I guess this is how it all ends, I'm only 31. I wonder how long it will take.

Meanwhile, my useless partner was just muttering that I should “Forget it, go back to sleep, it's okay.” It wasn't so good.

There are moments throughout relationships where you see these kinds of things, where you're like, “Really?” It tells you about someone. We're still good friends, 30 years later, but we'd only known each other for less than a year. It's really smart. He's kind of an engineer, but sometimes he pretty much doesn't think, and at that moment especially, he flew by the seat of his pants.

I'm the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, and I'm like, “Okay, what are you going to do?” You have to have a plan A, B and C.

I had all this time to think because I'm just keeping the lion blind. He can't see me while I'm pointing the flashlight at him.

“I knew we couldn't run. That would make the whole situation worse. We didn't have any weapons and I thought, 'Wow, I guess this is how this ends.'”

I was wondering, if I threw a giant ball of wool, would you chase it like a smaller kitten? What happens if I scratch under my chin like I used to do with my cat while he's choking me? Would you let me go?

I say, “Well, at least they suffocate their victims. At least it won't tear me apart like a wolf does, because that's horrible. Well, at least that.”

How long can I last? 20 seconds? I don't know. This is the path I'm going to follow, really?

I was trying to have fun during that terrible wait. It seemed so long that he or she kept coming and going.

After an eternity of blinding him with the flashlight, he got tired of trying to see through it and gave up and walked into the woods. Needless to say, I didn't go back to sleep, but instead grabbed my bag and headed to the car. It seemed like an eternity, but in reality it was probably 15 or 20 minutes.

I'm still sure I dodged a bullet that night. Since then, I've read stories about how many mountain lions there are everywhere.

I have spent more than 30 years of my adult life backpacking through the High Sierras and other California wilderness areas, and when it comes to big cats, I have only had that encounter.

However, I am alone 90% of the time and I have had the feeling (it is an instinct we all have) that I am being watched from time to time and that it will be a big cat.

You will almost never see them. When I get that feeling in the back of my neck, I just slow down and do my best to look big; having a huge backpack helps.

I should have made it that night because I didn't end up as a prisoner.