Star Trekkers
Left to right: Illini mountaineers Carl Steiner, Dan Weidrich and
Tom Inman atop Mt. Kilimanjaro, 19,341 feet above sea level. (Image courtesy of Dan Wiedrich) The High Point of 2023 for Daniel C. Wiedrich, ’84 ENG, MS ’89 LAS; Thomas W. Inman, ’84 ENG; and Carl N. Steiner, ’82 ENG, MS ’84 ENG; came at sunrise on Sept. 3, 2024. The Illini trekkers reached the top of Africa’s tallest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, after six days of hiking.
“As we were walking, the shadow of Kilimanjaro was in front of us on the horizon,” says Steiner, who works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, Calif. “We could see this massive triangle projected onto the plains of Tanzania.”
The trip back down took a mere two days. Total distance traveled: 42 miles.
Wiedrich, a retired actuary and acknowledged leader of the pack, and Inman, a NASA aeronautical engineer, grew up as friends in Decatur, Ill. They roomed together at Illinois and met Steiner as freshmen in Garner Hall.
The trio has been climbing peaks together and separately in various configurations, says Inman. Kilimanjaro entered Wiedrich’s sites when he signed up for a missionary trip to Kigoma, Tanzania, and he pitched the idea to Inman and Steiner, who quickly signed on.
The mountaineers set out on the scenic Lemosho route, where they encountered monkeys and exotic birds. They were most impressed by the Dendrosenecio kilimanjari, palms known for their thick branches, which are only found on Kilimanjaro. “[They] reminded me of a Dr. Seuss book,” Wiedrich says.
All three felt the effect of the thin air of the mountain’s high altitude (19,341 feet). Wiedrich, in particular, felt lethargic. Steiner recalls getting pictures of himself taken at the peak, while Inman went to find Wiedrich, who had wandered off, feeling a bit delirious.
Acclimatization is one of many challenges “Kili” hikers face. Their guide informed the trio that two hikers had died during the climb, and Steiner notes that helicopters had flown over to rescue others who had decided they could no longer meet the challenge.
Inman, Steiner and Wiedrich remain undaunted, however. They are already talking about how cool it might be to get pictures of Mount Everest from a nearby peak.
