Day 463 – US – Washington [Quincy to Soap Lake]

11/07/21

39km

  From Quincy (Washington) to Soap Lake (Washington)

North America

Back to the solitude of the run on another hot day, great finish by the lake

Oasis of green fields in the desert

I definitely have to start my runs much earlier. Today I was done by noon but it was already very hot. Sunrise is 5:15am. I have some margin for improvement! The region I am running through at the moment is very dry, the only vegetation is found in the succession of round shape fields by the side of the road. The rotating sprinkler irrigation system creates the shapes – and there is literally nothing growing outside the irrigation reach.

Dry and hot

Incidentally I notice I am also running through “Trump’s country” so to speak. There are still a lot of presidential campaign signs by the houses. I also spotted a flag floating upside down yesterday and Lisa explained it’s the sign of supporters who think the election has been rigged. Today as I was having lunch at the local pub, Trump was on TV explaining how he has won the election and all the locals were cheering and raising their glasses…

Tribute to mountaineers Jim & Fred in Ephrata

A bit of random trivia today. As I was running through the tiny town of Ephrata (7,000 inhabitants) I spotted a sign on a little square. It looked like the K2 mountain (there was a big “K2” sign in the midde too!). K2 is the second highest mountain in the world after Everest, standing at 8,611m (28.250ft). I came closer. It was indeed the K2 and I discovered that 2 people from Ephrata (Jim Wickwire and Fred Dunham) were the first Americans to climb K2. Quite an achievement and it’s nice that their successful story is displayed for all to see in their hometown. It seems a bit improbable that 2 people from this area would end up as pioneer mountaineers – but after all, it’s not far from Mount Rainier.

Soap Lake

I am staying by Soap Lake today. Soap Lake is at the southern end of a chain of lakes on the Grand Coulee river bed. Its high mineral content makes it extraordinary and the most radical “meromictic” lake in the US (I let you google this one, I learned the word today when doing my research on the area!). My host today Chan was so impressed by my journey she let me stay for free (!!) and also recommended I go in the lake for all the therapeutic benefits. I went for a swim anyway as it was so hot – let’s see what sort of magic it’s gonna work on me! And as for the name “Soap Lake” I guess it refers to how “soapy” the water feels – a bit gooey and sticky. Tomorrow I’ll be heading north-east along other lakes of the Grand Coulee.

Check out today’s flyover video: https://www.relive.cc/view/vNOPrXjJ42q

Personal Note: Happy birthday to Alice who’s turning 10 today, wooop wooop!

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: