For Judy and me, this was our first trip to the Phoenix Bouldering Contest (PBC), an annual event where scores of climbers from around the world descend upon Queen’s Creek near Phoenix, AZ for a weekend of climbing, socializing, music, food, and all around fun. Since we were going to drive all the way out to the Phoenix area, we figured we might as well get the most out of our gas costs and spend a few days mountain biking as well. After all, Phoenix was known to have some pretty good mountain biking trails.

Patty, Brian, and Ryan planned on going out early with Judy and me for some mountain biking. We’d later meet up with Aaron, Kate, and Sean at the PBC. Judy and I rode in the 4-Runner, Ryan and Patty took Patty’s Yuppie-Mobile, and Brian soloed it in his Outback. Since it was pretty much a straight shot east on the 8, we all decided to meet at our place and caravan from there. Despite a minor flap with our maid (who showed up an hour and a half late on her first day), we managed to leave only slightly later than we had planned.

Applebee’s
Traffic wasn’t too bad once we got out of San Diego and it wasn’t long before we got to Yuma. We decided to stop there for dinner and ended up at the Applebee’s. Our absent-minded waitress forgot several things, but always did so with a smile. Judy’s wrap was supposed to have the dressing on the side but instead had it on the inside despite the chef’s insistence to the contrary. It was probably a good thing though because those calories would be needed the next day during our long ride.

During dinner, we busted out our Arizona mountain biking book. Brian and Ryan were set on doing the National Trail (described as the “Teacher of Terror” in the book) while Judy and Patty opted for the Desert Classic Trail. I was on the fence for a little bit, but after reading that the National Trail was very exposure prone, I decided to also do the Desert Classic. The Desert Classic is an out and back while the National Trail combined with the Desert Classic forms a loop. We would all meet up at the end of the out portion of the Desert Classic and then all ride back together.

Camping with the RVs
It wasn’t long after leaving Yuma that we hit the 347 where we headed north before hitting the 10. Using a AAA camp guide, Judy had located a campground suitable for camping in the Tempe area. We found it without much of a problem and it turned out to be an RV park pretty much in the middle of town. It appeared that we were the only people in the park camping as everyone else in the park were shacked up in their posh RVs. We pulled into an empty space and got ready for bed. The park had a nice bathroom, but it had a lock on it and we didn’t know the combo. Brian, Ryan, and Judy ended up going to the bathroom at some nearby bar while Patty lucked out and was able to get in just as someone else was leaving. I didn’t feel like walking to the bar so I ended up just taking a piss in the park (as much out of view as I could manage). Patty, Brian, Judy and I slept in our respective vehicles while Ryan made a pseudo mattress with two crash pads and slept outside in his bivy. His sleep setup probably turned out to be the most comfortable out of everyone’s - those crash pads are comfy!

Searching for the Trailhead
We awoke the next morning to sunny skies. There was no rush so we leisurely got packed up and ready to go. We stopped by Bashra’s, a local supermarket, for some breakfast, lunch food, and water. Soon we were on our way to the trail. We turned off at what we thought might be the trail head, but it didn’t look quite right. A mini-van of fellow Californians pulled up next to us and they were equally as lost. We looked around and checked the book and maps but still weren’t sure where the trailhead was. Fortunately, a local walked by who was able to point us in the right general direction.

Unfortunately, that only got us so far. We pulled up into a parking lot that we thought might be the trail head. It wasn’t, but we were lucky to run into another local. A nice old man driving around in a golf cart (we were right next to a golf course) was able to lend us some assistance. With California plates, 6 bikes between our three vehicles, and parked nowhere near any bike trails, we were obviously lost. He offered to take us to the trailhead. It was quite a comical sight with our three vehicles following an old man driving a golf cart. Even funnier was that Brian chose to drive along with the gold cart on the shoulder of the residential road.

To our relief, the old man wasn’t senile and soon led us to the park entrance. There were quite a few cars parked here and quite a few mountain bikes. We parked and got ready to ride making sure to bring plenty of water. The ride was fairly long at 18+ miles and it was already pretty hot.

The Desert Classic and National Trails
Brian and Ryan went off towards the National Trail while Patty, Judy and I headed onto the Desert Classic Trail. The Desert Classic turned out to be a pretty fun trail. It was mostly flat single and double track with rolling hills. There were a few moderately technical sections. One of the highlights for us on the trail occurred when we were stopped at a fork in the road deciding which way to go. Patty heard some rocks crunching behind her and turned around to see a large desert tortoise plodding across the trail. Pretty cool!

Since we wasted a bunch of time prior to the ride searching for the trailhead, we got a later start than we would have liked. Although it was still spring in Phoenix, it was still quite hot. The trail did not have much in the way of shade (it is the desert after all) and there was not a single cloud in the sky to help shelter us from the beaming sun. It was a very good thing that we all remembered to put on our sunscreen.

About two hours and 9+ miles later, we reached the Telegraph Pass junction where we were to meet Brian and Ryan. They weren’t there yet and we couldn’t raise them on the Talk-Abouts so we took the opportunity to eat lunch. We were all quite famished. Soon, we were able to raise Brian and Ryan on the Talk-About; they were just about to do the final descent to meet us. When they arrived, we got a trail report. We were eager to hear about it since the book had described the trail as “The Teacher of Terror”. Brian said that it was the most technical trail that he had ever ridden. Ryan didn’t quite agree even though he did a nice pogo endo and smashed his helmet in when he landed on his head. Apparently, I didn’t miss out on that much since a large portion of the trail consisted of a sustained technical climb. The fun part came after the climb in which there is a highly technical descent to the Telegraph Pass junction. Brian and Ryan learned that there was a parking lot up top (near the end of their climb). Next time, we’ll consider setting up a shuttle at that parking lot and then ride down what Brian and Ryan had to climb up.

Slurpee Slurpee!
Ryan and Brian took a rest and ate their lunches. It was really hot and the sun was relentless. Brian’s knees were actually getting burned! We looked forward to the end of the ride and decided that some nice cold Slurpees sounded really good. Soon we were riding back and we got back much quicker than our ride out. We packed up and headed out and soon came across an AM-PM where we got our Icees. As a reward for our long calorie burning ride, we all got some tasty fat-filled snacks. Ryan and I each got a hot dog, Patty got some Doritos 3-D chips, and Judy, ever the health-conscious one, got a bag of baked Doritos.

Monster Suite, Definitely Not Petite
Patty had reserved a suite at the Day’s Inn in Mesa. It turned out to be a gigantic suite. We settled in, watched some CNN on TV, showered (the monster suite only had two towels and to get more, you had to go get them yourself - weak!), and just hung out until dinner. We talked about how guys and girls have different definitions of the word “petite”. Guys tend to think that petite means an all-around small woman - both short and slender. For girls, petite just means short. A 5′2″, 150 lb girl would be petite by the girls’ definition, but certainly not by the guys’ definition.

Brian was to meet his parents and Grandma for dinner that night, so the rest of us headed out to dinner. Of the available restaurants listed on one of the hotel guides, we decided that the Chopsticks Asian Eatery sounded pretty good so I called to get directions. There’s this lame, 5 minute (literally) recorded message that greets you in which the founder of the restaurant goes on and on and on and on about why this place is so great blah, blah, blah. After the stupid message, you are given the option to hit 1 to get a live person. We finally get directions and head for the restaurant. Although we followed the directions, we couldn’t find the damn place. After looking for a while, we decide to call again (everyone forgot their cell phones) from a pay phone. I make the call and when the stupid message comes on, I click 1, wait a few moments, and then get a busy signal! WTF?! Because of the stupid message, the call essentially went through so the phone kept my money. Lame! We decided to screw that stupid restaurant and its stupid phone message.

We ended up at Pick Up Stix. Our food came quick and Judy had some fun with the “waiter” who kept forgetting Judy’s request for a pair of chopsticks. After dinner, we went to the grocery store right next to the Pick Up Stix to get some more water and food.

Brian had already returned to the suite by the time we got back. We hung around, watched some TV while Ryan and Patty fixed Patty’s flat tire which had some pretty big cactus spikes in it. Brian, while fetching something from his car, noticed a suspicious-looking dude hanging around the back parking lot so we all decided to repark our vehicles in the front parking lot which was better lit and more public.

On to Queen’s Creek
After hitting the free continental breakfast, we packed up and headed towards the PBC. A large showing of people was expected this year so we wanted to make sure we were able to get a decent campsite. We soon arrived at Queen’s Creek Campground and although we weren’t among the first ones there, we were able to get a nice campsite. All of us were just going to sleep in our cars so an actual campsite wasn’t really necessary. However, Aaron, Kate, and Sean would be arriving in a few hours and they planned on setting up tents. Ryan and I staked out a spot for them to put up their tents.

Killin’ Time Soaking Up Carcinogens and Doin’ Pilates
Once there, we pretty much just sat around for several hours. The sun was beating down pretty good, but a slight breeze made it generally tolerable. Patty and Brian chit chatted inside Brian’s car (it was surprisingly cooler inside the cars) while Judy tried to pass the time by setting up a makeshift pilates studio on a crash pad.

Aaron, Kate, and Sean left SD that morning at around 6 AM or so and weren’t expected to arrive until around noon at the earliest. The word was that some of the gear vendors had opened up early so the group decided to head down to the main area to get some deals on gear. I stayed to man the fort for the late arrivers who ended up getting there at almost 1 PM.

Judy was going to town at the vendor tents and had a huge bag full of cheap (price, that is) clothes. Both Brian and I were able to buy an Osprey Aether 60 backpack for only $25! Judy had bought the same exact bag a little over a year ago for something like $135 which was considered a really good deal. We spent the afternoon perusing and shopping the vendor booths. As the sun was setting, Patty, Judy, Ryan, Brian, and I grabbed our bikes and went for a short ride. Sean decided to go for a short run and actually passed us up because we were just tooling around trying to find technical obstacles to ride.

When dinnertime rolled around, most of the people got something at the roach coach. Ryan, Patty, and myself decided to wait in line for the smoked chicken and ribs. Boy was that a mistake! It literally took over half an hour to get our food. The food was pretty tasty (at least the chicken was. Ryan complained that his ribs were kind of fatty), it certainly wasn’t worth the wait.

Climbing Among the Crowds
The next day was the competition. Apparently, there were a lot more people this year than in previous years. Either that or the area allotted for climbing was not as large. Or perhaps it was a combination of the two. At any rate, there were a lot of people and sometimes it would be hard to get on a climb that you wanted to do. It was still fun and we got to see some of the pros climb like Lisa Rands and Lauren Lee. Brian, who was there only to spectate, made the rounds and got to see nearly all of the pros.

After a hard day of climbing in the sun, we were all pretty tired when the competition ended. We all got together and had some drinks and snacks in one of the few shady areas underneath a tree in front of the roach coach. We then headed back to camp, rested for a while, then returned to the main area to redeem our dinner tickets for Mexican food. We brought our crash pads and ate our dinners atop of them on a grassy field. The food was OK, but not really enough. After dinner, we headed back to camp, changed into warmer clothes, and then headed back down again to the main area for the dyno competition.

Dyno Comp and Ryan Wins
The dyno comp was entertaining but it soon became tiresome having to stand there for so long. After an hour or so, Judy and I decided that if you’ve seen an hour’s worth of dynos, you’ve seen enough and headed back to camp. After the comp was over and everybody had returned to camp, we heard them announce Ryan’s name over the loudspeaker, repeating it several times. Ryan ran all the way back to the main area and discovered that he had won one of the grand prizes - a new Bluewater rope. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it down in time and they ended up giving it to someone else.

Pancakes? Tempting but . . .
The next day, Brian, Judy, and I decided to do one last ride before heading back home. We decided to turn down the free pancakes so that we could get an early start on our ride before it got too hot. The rest of the group either did not want to ride or couldn’t (didn’t bring their bikes) so we bid them adieu and headed towards the trail. The night before, we had decided we’d do the McDowell Mountains Bike Race Loop. There was a portion of it called the Tech Loop that sounded like it contained a bunch of technical obstacles, both natural and manmade. It would be a good place for all of us, Judy in particular, to practice our technical riding.

We found the place without a hitch and had to pay $5 to enter the park. Aside from a semi-steep rock-ledge drop at the beginning, the trail, even the Tech Loop portion, turned out to be not that technical. It was still fun, however, with nice, twisty singletrack. The Tech Loop only took us about 20-30 minutes to do. After riding it, we considered riding the rest of the the loop but opted instead to head home.

All in all, it turned out to be a fun trip. For me, the jury’s still out on whether the PBC is worth it or not. The climbing was fun and some of the gear deals were really good, but the crowds I could do without. It seems like a good place to go perhaps in March when it’s not so hot and you can have the rocks all to yourselves. I didn’t get too many pics on the actual day of the contest. Between climbing from location to location and jostling with the crowds, it was difficult to take any pictures. Anyhow, here they are. Enjoy!

Posted by Roger at 8:44 pm.