On Friday, the 20th of February, Davinius “drug the drag” at the Alturas Lake ski trails, flattening and fluffing up North Cabin, Sheep Thrills, and parts of the Trail to the Lake and South Loop. He did not touch the existing classic tracks since they were firmly embedded in the crystaline snowpack and would not yield to his plowing. Skiing conditions were judged to be quite good. He then retreated to his warm but melting snow cave to contemplate the eremitic life, the 20th of February being the feast day of the famous English hermit Wulfric. Looking about his humble abode, he remembered the poem of Thomas Parnell from 1714…

Far in a Wild, unknown to publick View,
From Youth to Age a rev’rend Hermit grew;
The Moss his Bed, the Cave his humble Cell,
His Food the Fruits, his Drink the chrystal Well

As a drop of ice water hit his balding head, Davinius decided that Matthew was right when he said that, “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” With that, he returned to what he considered his real work, that of realizing the supremacy of the heart in the human being, the work of restoring the reign of the heart, the hermit’s salvation. He smiled as another drop of water ran down his furrowed brow.