Reverse roles - you've been thinking about this day for years and nearly all of your free time for the last 6 months has been used to prepared for this day ... how receptive are YOU to help? If a stranger said that you needed to turn around because you were showing the early signs of AMS/hypothermia/etc, would you?
It would depend on where I was and what I felt. If I was only a mile from the summit and feeling great, I would keep going even if someone told me that I was showing the early signs of AMS/hypothermia/any other problem. But if I still didn't reach Trail Camp yet and was already feeling a bit iffy, I'd probably turn around if someone advised me to.
And what about someone who you don’t think should be on the trail because they started later than you approve
On my hike to Lone Pine Lake a week and a half ago, two hikers in separate groups asked me how far I was planning to go. I told them I was going to Lone Pine Lake, and they said that I should "consider going back" because "it's getting late and dark; you probably won't make it, and you still have to go back". This was around 5:40ish and about a mile and a half into the hike (I started the hike from the Portal a few minutes after 5 PM).
I let them know that I had a headlamp and was already familiar with the trail, and they gave me an odd look before moving on. I kept going and didn't regret it - the lake was beautiful, and I didn't feel like I was in any danger on my way back.
