When I worked at UC Santa Cruz, I used to ride my bike up the hill and through the great meadow everyday to work. It's a wonderful bike trail that overlooks the entire Monterey Bay on the ride down. At the trail entrance, like other places on campus, is a warning sign about entering mountain lion country. I always felt safe though, because I was on my bike. And then, of course, a year and half ago a woman was riding a bike in Orange County on a trail very much like the one I rode everday, when she was attacked by a mountain lion. So much for those false senses of security. After that, I rode up the hill more alert than I usually was at that time in the morning.
There is a book I enjoyed reading not long ago by Gary Thorp, a chronicle of his quest to see a mountain lion in the wild. Caught in Fading Light is the name of the book. (As a Zen student, I have to warn you, in all fairness, that the book has a lot of Zen mumbo jumbo in it. I am supposed to make one of those sideways smileyfaces here, but I am not sure of the keystrokes.) Most of his walking was north of San Francisco near Mt. Tamalpais. I won't give away whether he saw one, but the reason it is a good book is that he manages to make us--to use your words--more alert than usual, as he takes us on his walks.
I will have to find that book. I sometimes call that alertness "free attention" -- when your mind can perceive what is going on around you, and is not cluttered about what to make for dinner, or how to make the car payment. I am quite ambivalent about seeing a mountain lion. I often saw bobcats right outside my window at work, but I never saw the mountain lion. Part of me would like to see one, but part of me is alarmed about the possibility of being prey.
About the smiley faces. If you look at the comments in haloscan below where you can put in your URL, you'll see something called Comment: ? If you click on the question mark, you'll be able to choose any smiley, laughing, grimacing face your heart desires. 
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