Did not wipe excess stain off my stairs within recommended time period

Q: I had this great idea to recondition my stairs, rather than completely refinish them. I roughed them up enough to remove the old varnish, and applied a dark stain to match the existing woodwork. I did not wipe the excess stain off within the recommended time period. Now, days later, the stain is still very tacky.

I am loosing my hopes of it drying sufficiently for polyurethane to be applied. Any ideas on what I should do?

A: Try rubbing them down with some mineral spirits and a cloth. Try some fine steel wool if you need a big more bite.