A wrap of the biggest stories and best writing about the outdoors from New Zealand and around the world.

A Tennessee woman is accused of paying a hitman from the dark web to kill the wife of a hiking buddy she met on Match.com and stalking the woman’s whereabouts on a fitness app, court documents reveal. 

Melody Sasser apparently didn’t like it when her friend, identified in recently unsealed court documents by the initials D.W., told her he was getting married last fall.

Investigators were given messages between an online user, “cattree,” and the administrator of the dark web site Online Killers Market, which offers hitmen for hire, court documents say.

Officials say she shared the name of the target, an address, the equivalent of $9,750 in bitcoin and a description saying: “it needs to seem random or accident. Or plant drugs, do not want a long investigation. She recently moved in with her new husband.”

If convicted she faces up to ten years in prison. Read the full story at NBC News.

The TA’s biggest season yet

The Otago Daily Times reports that this season was the TA’s biggest season yet.

Te Araroa Trust executive director Matt Claridge said the hiking route had more than 4000 walkers between September and May which was an increase of 2200 across the 2019-20 season.

It was great to see the trail returning better than post-Covid, he said. About 75-80% of the through walkers were international and many came specifically to experience the trail.

Mr Claridge believed the trail was an important market for the local economy. “They do spend money when they come to a town, whether it’s accommodation, food, drink, hot pools … and they definitely need to restock their supplies.” Each walker spent an average of $130-$150 a day between sections of the trail, he said.

Japan’s best hikes for Kiwi trampers

Japan stretches nearly 2900km from the town of Wakkanai on the most northerly tip of Hokkaido to the tiny island of Yonaguni, close to Taiwan in the far south. In between are more than 14,000 islands. And the best way to explore those differences is on foot.

Japan’s ancient rulers established a network of tracks across the country as they collected taxes and sent out troops to quell not-infrequent local rebellions. Samurai lords were also required to make regular visits to Edo, the feudal capital that is now the metropolis of Tokyo.

Those routes may have long fallen into disuse for their original purpose, but they can still be followed across mountain passes and through valleys that have become untouched backwaters. The NZ Herald highlights four long-distance routes to tackle.

How to salvage your hiking trip when you’ve forgotten gear

Forgetting a key piece of equipment can (and sometimes should) put an end to your hiking plans. But as with a lot of things in the backcountry, you can often substitute a little bit of know-how for gear, at least for a night or two. Backpacker polled the staff about their hard-won solutions for making do without tent poles, bags, hiking shoes, and more—and for their advice about when it’s time to just call it.

Man finds ‘nice’ hiking boots at thrift store, they fall apart first time he wears them

You can find all kinds of items at the thrift store which was why one man thought he got a great deal when he thrifted hiking boots for just $9, only to watch them fall apart on the first wear.

In a viral video that has raked up 380,600 views, TikToker Hamza (@ayoungmess) showed his viewers how his thrifted boots didn’t even survive their first hike.

“Thought I was hot s*** for thrifting a $9 pair of nice hiking boots but got humbled on the first wear,” the video’s caption read. The clip shows Hamza starting his hike as the thrifted boots begin to tear and rip. Eventually, the entire sole comes undone and he pulls it off, throwing it away while laughing. Watch the video on the Daily Dot.