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Voyage of the Cowdog
5.8+,
Sport, 260 ft (79 m), 3 pitches,
Avg: 3.3 from 568
votes
FA: Jon Bates FFA Jon and Heather Bates
Oregon
> Central Oregon
> Smith Rock
> (a) Picnic Lunch Wall
Access Issue: 2023 Seasonal Raptor Nesting Closures
Details
JULY 5 UPDATE FROM PARK MANAGEMENT:
ALL SEASONAL CLIMBING CLOSURES FOR CLIMBING AND SLACKLINING WILL BE LIFTED ON FRIDAY, JULY 7TH THIS WEEK.
THANKS, EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP IN OBSERVING RESTRICTIONS DURING THE NESTING SEASON!
There are many seasonal raptor closures with varying dates and specific boundaries. These generally effect The Monument, Kiss of the Lepers, Picnic Lunch Wall and/or Smith Rock group, and possibly elsewhere. These usually run from February to the beginning of August, but each closure is usually shorter than this, and is dependent on the birds' behavior. Check this site for details:
smithrock.com/seasonal-clos…
Description
Pitch one starts at the top of the gully separating the table scraps wall from ship rock. Climb an easy slab that wanders right into a steepening water groove and exit onto the ridge through a shallow chimney (5.8). Pitch two consists of basically moving the belay 60' up the scenic ridge to the base of the final pitch (5.5). Pitch three is the money pitch that justifies the mediocre 1st and 2nd pitch. Climb the airy slab through several steep bulges to a crux high step with entire height of the Picnic lunch wall beneath you (5.8).
Location
This route is located between table scraps wall and ship rock at the top of the gully. Hike up past the shipwreck wall until a faint trail takes off right, under the table scraps wall and then switchbacks up the gully, please try to find this path as the hillside is fragile. Walk off(adventurous/reccomended) to the misery ridge trail or rap the route(difficult) with at least a 60m rope that will BARELY make it down to the base of the third pitch and barely make down to the ground on the first pitch(use knots at the end of the rope). Rapping down the shallow gulley climbers left seems to be the best on the second pitch. This was one of the last routes to make the new guide book and it was quickly rated with only a few ascents before the new book went to print, therefore it got rated harder than it is. That being said, this is not your average 5.8 Smith sport route with manicured rock, avoid if loose rock bothers you...
Protection
Bolts, Helmet, lifestyles
[Hide Photo] Taking my mom up VOTC to celebrate the one year anniversary of when she decided to start climbing at 63 years old.
[Hide Photo] this is the approach There is a trail the entire way although it is slightly loose gravel From about halfway up so try not to kick rocks down on your friends
Crestline Ca.
Bend, Or.
I was tempted to rappel all the way down from the anchors atop the 2nd pitch, but I think i would have knocked some huge rocks on top of myself. Instead me and my partner lowered/downclimb belayed each other to the 1st pitch anchors (from the ledge below the 3rd) and then rappeled down. Next time I'll try walking up and around. Sep 17, 2010
Portland OR
Getting off it is a bit of an adventure. At the top are two sets of anchors. The best-located anchor to rap off has a bad bolt. The other does not have chains and the biners left on it pinches the rope so it can not be pulled (I know, I had to prusik up the rope, realizing that unless we leave more biners there was no way we felt conformable in rapping, besides rapping the second pitch would also have been problematic, considering it is a low angle ridge, so we walked off in our rock shoes). Note we had a 70m rope, so I was not concern in rappelling the first pitch, but it appears that it would be a close call with a 60m rope. The walk off has an easy but exposed move (bolt protected), an unprotected, but not exposed 8 down climb (or lower to a point where you drop the last few feet) and a long round about path to Aggro Gully. Apr 11, 2011
Today I pulled the bolt out with my hand. I removed it so no one would haphazardly clip it. Once replaced, a 60 meter rope barely makes it back to anchors. From there down climb the second pitch. A final rappel just makes it to the ground at the highest point - tie knots! May 16, 2011
Portland, OR
The exposure on the third pitch is great. I would recommend folks be a bit careful on this route as it is fairly new and some of the rock is still loose; I kicked off a softball sized chunk on P3 and watched it free fall a few hundred feet and land perilously close to the trail.
As of yesterday (14 Jan 2012) I did not notice anything wrong with the rap bolts on top of P3, nor any of the other anchor bolts on the route. I did not use the "normal" bolts on top of P3 so I can't speak to their quality. Jan 16, 2012
Terrebonne, OR
Just uphill from the top-out is a really nice picnic spot.
Now, the walk-off... well, it would have been nice if Watts' had mentioned that it included a bolt-aid pull over a hump 30 yards beyond the anchors, and a rappel from a single generously-placed nut and locker down to a ledge with a memorial plaque (someone tried to downclimb this and died?) and another hundred yards of meandering above sheer cliffs before joining the main hiker's trail. So now I'm mentioning it in case you think the "...or walk off" bit sounds casual enough to follow without consideration. May 1, 2012
cody, wy
As of June 29th, the right bolt of the lower, beefier bolts (I assume intended to allow a 60m rap) was loose, with the bolt itself wiggling in the hole. Upper set of bolts were solid though, and someone left some pretty fresh-looking 7mm cord with a couple of quick links that could probably be used to rappel for the next few months. Could use actual rappel chains on top. That being said, we climbed with our packs and did the walk off.
A few notes on the walk off:
The bolt protecting the first boulder move out of the perch (great lunch spot) is still there and takes the sketchiness out of what would otherwise be a very precarious move (not hard, just exposed). We initially stayed high as we traversed after the boulder move only to run up against the 10' unprotected down climb. Instead of down climbing we backtracked and scrambled down an easy low-angle slab (fine without a belay although we would have used it if we'd known there was a bolt) and then traversed below the down climb and scrambled back up to where the plaque is located. From here we continued traversing, following a faint use-trail along the top of Picnic Lunch Wall. After the plaque we went high over another jut of rock and did a short scramble down the back side to a wide sandy area full of sagebrush. From here it was a short hike up to the Misery Ridge Trail following a much more distinct use trail. Overall the walk off was fine, but it really does merit more than Alan Watt's one sentence.
Final Note: If you do rap with a 60m rope, tie knots! We met another group as we started the walk off and they said the rope just barely reached the 2nd anchor station from the top. Jul 2, 2012
Lots of crispy rock up there still. The spice adds to the overall flavor.
Confirmed the slabby walk off, which is now marked by cairns. Aug 26, 2013
Eugene, OR
North Bend, WA
Bring two extra draws and link the first two pitches together to save on time. It'll go with a 60 and a bit of drag.
Great route. Thanks for putting it up. Sep 2, 2014
La Crosse, WI
Portland, OR
All in all a good route with a view at the end of P3 that is hard to beat. That being said I would have given it more stars if I didn't have to think about breaking holds off and raining death and destruction on my belayer and/or hikers on the trail below. Apr 27, 2015
Portland, OR
Portland, OR
Portland, OR
It was really windy that day, and some small gravel was being blown down P1 from the dirty ledge above. On normal days, I don't think it would be a problem with a little care. Only other major rockfall concern I experienced would be when rapping P2 back to P1 anchors. Staying rapper's left of the P2 route is a more direct line to the P1 anchors, but has some loose stuff that could be knocked down by feet or when pulling the rope. I didn't notice any terribly loose holds, however.
Cool route, and I would certainly climb it again.
I think considering all the traffic this route sees now, it would be beneficial to explore the possibility of making a separate rappel route--down the gulley for example. Sep 19, 2015
Austin, TX
Portland, OR
Portland, OR
Definitely wear a helmet as top of pitch 1 has a lot of loose dirt and pebbles. Pitch 1 was solid face climbing. Didn't feel like anything was hollow. Also, I\if you're needing to "crank" on any holds, maybe you aren't paying attention to your footwork. Pitch 2 is just kinda a dirty short scramble. Pitch 3 is solid and money. Jun 1, 2016
Bend, OR
More importantly, I feel like this route merits an R rating. The run outs are on super-easy climbing, but there are certainly points on the (slabby) first and third pitches that the leader could take huge rides. (at one point on the third, you could easily hit the belay ledge if you totally botched it) Regardless, not for the budding 5.8 leader. Jun 18, 2016
Rhododendron, OR
P1 (5.8) bomber holds and a fun little finish.
P2 (4th class) safe and fun with good 4th class exposure
P3 (5.9, because of the high-step) Bomber holds and tons of beautiful exposure Sep 6, 2016
Portland, OR
The obvious bolt that protects the exposed move on the walk off appeared to be missing a hanger yesterday, 10/8/16. Does anyone have info about this? Oct 9, 2016
Truckee, CA
Link P1 and P2. Pitch 1 seemed mostly cleaned up but still some loose stuff. I only clipped 2 directional bolts on P2 to minimize rope drag.
P3 was fun exposed 5.8. We rappelled the route in 3 rappels with no problem. Rap from the top to the P2 Belay. Rappel from the P2 belay to the top of pitch 1. Be sure to carry both ends of the rope on slings rather than throwing them- this way you can avoid knocking off any loose rock. If you knock off any rocks they will go straight down picnic lunch wall onto the crowded paths that contain hundreds of people so be very careful. Simply walk backwards to the top of P1 belay paying out your rope as you go. If you were to slip and fall here it would be a nasty pendulum so don't slip. From start to being back on the ground we were done in about 90 minutes with a party of 3. Oct 17, 2016
Helena, MT
P2-5.0 or 4th
P3-5.9 (I thought the hardest part on the third pitch was getting over the bulge right before the chains)
Overall it was a great route with good protection and exposure and an amazing summit. The rock quality was good overall, however there was some loose stuff on the first pitch. P3 felt solid though. Rapping down P2 is a bit of a hassle because its such a low angle. I carried the rope down the first half and then threw it after the angle got steeper. Mar 11, 2017
Bend, OR
Mesa
Soldotna, Alaska
Portland, OR
Salt Lake City, UT
Eugene, OR
Chad Sep 22, 2018
Bend
If the 3rd pitch were on the ground, it would get gang banged harder than Rope De Dope. All in all a pretty meh experience. Rappelling anchor to anchor was easy, just be mindful of where the rope is. Jan 31, 2019
evanston
cody, wy
Bend, OR
Portland, OR
cody, wy
Bend, OR
I'd also add that I've had better success rapping the line of ascent on P2 as opposed to the gully climber's left of the line described above. Both work, but it's harder to pull the rope if you go down the gully. (easier to rap though) Oct 14, 2020
Redmond, WA
Berkeley
We were advise by locals to not try the hike down since it is a bit sketchy. Oct 4, 2021
Boise, ID
Bolts all solid - couple of hangers were spinners but bolts were good.
Third pitch was stunning. Stay right for the good stuff.
Rapped w 70m. Used saddle bag. Don’t throw your rope. Jun 20, 2022
Salt Lake City, UT
Did the walk-off descent after sunset, thank you to the folks who commented details because otherwise it would have been tricky getting down in the dark! Even with headlamps a little spooky. Sep 9, 2022
Only saw 2 bolts on P2, but didn't feel too sketchy by Smith standards.
Walk-off was good, don't let the comments here scare you too much. The drop-off can be avoided by following the lower path marked by cairns. Follow the map in this photo: mountainproject.com/photo/1…. Mar 13, 2023
Lago
Please don't rappel this route! This route is so popular that you are pretty much guaranteed to cause a huge hang up for everyone coming up behind you. On three of my ascents, parties rappelling above us caused 15+ minute delays. The walk off is not bad at all, especially if you follow the photo that Laust linked to in the photo above mine. Leave all your gear that you aren't bringing on the climb at the bottom of Shipwreck gully, so you don't have to hike up again to get it after coming down Misery Ridge.
Most recently, I was able to do this as a party of 3 with a single 70m rope. One person tied into the middle. We almost ran out of rope on both longer pitches but still had a few feet to spare. For this method, the more people that use a PAS instead of attaching themselves to the anchor with the rope, the better. That said, only one person in our crew used one. Mar 19, 2023
San Juan Capistrano, CA
Colorado Springs
Kennebunk, ME
Portland, OR
Climbed this on a busy Saturday (10/14/23). There was a group of three doing top rope laps on the top pitch! 7 groups were backed up behind them for hours. After this, they proceeded to not only rap the whole route but lower each other down every pitch past about 6 parties with no regard to anyone else. This spectacle could even be clearly witnessed from the parking lot (according to other climbers the next day). Having to wait an hour at a ledge while still being on belay (because the anchors were all full) is a drag. It's a good route for a newer multi pitch climber but it is wise to plan ahead and start early. Oct 16, 2023
Seattle, WA