Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The blizzard in Yosemite came thick and fast, yet the two outdoorsmen were glad to be at Sentinel Dome. Ignoring the five feet of snow already on the ground, they built a base camp with a bed of ferns and cedar boughs.

One of the men grabbed a flaming branch from the bonfire to ignite a nearby dead pine, and merrily danced a Scottish jig when the tree went up with a roar. Unable to contain himself, the other ran around shouting “Hurrah! Hurrah!” over and over.

The unlikely pair communing in the wilderness were President Theodore Roosevelt, in his trademark jodhpurs and Stetson, and wilderness visionary John Muir, resembling a hobo in his oversize coat and loose pants.

It was May 1903 and Roosevelt was on his Grand Loop tour of the American West, but for three precious days he ducked official duties to explore Yosemite with Muir. The two were in agreement on the urgent need to preserve forever the country’s great natural places, clashing only because both wanted to do all the talking.

I spoke with Douglas Brinkley, author of “The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America” (Harper), on the following topics:

1. The Ardent Audubonist

2. Restoring the Buffalo

3. Hunting Big Game

4. Preserving America’s Monuments

5. Creating National Parks

To buy this book in North America, click here.

(Lewis Lapham is the founder of Lapham’s Quarterly and the former editor of Harper’s Magazine. He hosts “The World in Time” interview series for Bloomberg News.)

To contact the writer on the story: Lewis Lapham in New York at lhl@laphamsquarterly.org.

Last Updated: November 14, 2009 00:01 EST