This hike was a last minute decision since I initially intended to hike Humphreys Peak. But due to a delay in leaving the house I made the last minute decision to change course and head to Fatman Loop and hike Mount Elden instead. The decision was also bolstered by my discovery that the closure order for the area had been modified to open the Elden Lookout Trail to the summit and that the boundary of the closure area would be the lookout tower itself. So I made a decision to go up Mount Elden instead. The parking lot was packed with cars but I managed to find a parking slot. I reread a copy of the revised closure order, took a photo of the closure area and noted the verbiage in the closure order which said that Elden Lookout Trail was open. Then I headed up. Even though it was almost 1500H there were still people heading up Mount Elden. Soon I passed some of them by and would encounter hikers coming down. A few of them said it took them a long while to hike up. I wasn't concerned since I had a turnaround time set wherein I would turn around if I hadn't summitted then. The switchbacks and the ascent was steep but having done Mount Langley the previous week as a day hike I consoled myself with the knowledge that I would not be battling altitude and in any case I never needed altitude medication and still summitted Langley the previous week. It felt long but a few minutes before my turnaround point I reached the junction with Sunset Trail which was cordoned off as part of the closure order. I took photos with the timer on my camera improvising with my pack and trekking poles as a makeshift tripod.  I then walked the remaining 0.2 miles to the summit and the lookout tower. I reached it at around 5:00pm my turnaround time but at that point I decided to stay a little longer before heading down since I had made it to the top. I took photos, had snacks and rested for several minutes before heading down. Because the lookout tower itself was closed I didn't go up on the tower. I headed down and encountered two hikers/runners separately going up. I went down the trail faster than I came up. I made it back to the trailhead at 1927H just as daylight was ending but it was still light enough that I didn't need a headlight. Just as I was signing out at the trailhead register, the runner whom I had met earlier heading up arrived back at the trailhead.  He too had just made it back before dark. After signing out the register, I went back to my car and my adventure was done.