“The mountains are calling, and I must go.” — John Muir
Robert Frederick Christensen, Jr., known to friends and the community as Rik, left this world on November 26, 2022, at the age of 77. Rik was a friend, a backpacker, a restorer, a tinkerer, an inspiration, an educator, and a legend.
I met Rik in the ’90s on a backpacking trip to a campsite in Los Padres National Forest called Forbush. We became instant backpacking friends who both embraced the lightweight backpacking philosophy of “take less, do more.” Rik was a fellow Los Padres Forest Volunteer Wilderness Ranger who helped maintain trails in the Santa Barbara backcountry, including clearing trails after fires. He was a mentor and friend to many people in the backpacking community, and I considered him a brother.