I've found on the fire road from a few weeks back and on Pine Loop last week, that it works for me just to stay in the small ring. The easiest gear on my middle chain is just a touch too hard for some of the climbing, and I dropped my chain when I tried to shift. This was not the bike but the user as I waited much too long to shift

I've a 10-speed cassette (11-36). Indy is a stronger climber than I am right now, I've hopes of narrowing that gap a little