One-way hike up the Switchback Trailhead to Mount Angeles, returning via the Sunrise Ridge trail to the (former) Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center (total 5 miles, 2200 feet, total time slightly less than 2 hours).
The switchbacks are as promised - about 700 feet of steep uphill until the branch with the Klahhane Ridge trail to the right. You want to go left 0.5 miles until you reach another rightward branch leading up Mount Angeles. The trail from here becomes slowly looser and less defined, but remains obvious, though steep, until approximately 400 feet below the summit, at which point it becomes more of a low-exposure Class 2 scramble interspersed with scree and bootpath.
The main scramble appears to lead around climber's left around to the north side of the summit - on my ascent I chose to hold to the right to come up the summit from the south, however this leads to a more exposed rocky scramble that I would rate as mostly Class 2 with some Class 3 moves. Near the summit going this rightward route, there is a crux ascending 40 feet at approximately 6410 feet elevation that I would call exposed Class 3 - the rock is solid, but the exposure is significant with a potential fall >100 feet. Again, you can avoid this by staying climber's left after approximately 6200 feet. The view from the summit is quite stunning, with views of the Juan de Fuca Strait, Port Angeles, most of the North-Central Olympics, and of course, Mount Olympus itself.
I returned by the more obvious path I previously mentioned (drops down from the north side of the summit), which has intermittent Class 2 moves with minimal exposure, however it is quite scree-filled with poor footing at times. At the branch with the Switchback trail, I continued on to the visitor center/Sunrise Ridge, however you could easily return back down the Switchback trail to the road for a total round trip of less than 4 miles.
All in all, a fantastic scramble for the amount of work, and a great way to gain experience for new and moderate scramblers without too much pain.
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