15-year-old American girl on the hike of a lifetime

By MALUM NALU
A 15-year-old American girl is having the adventure of her life trekking the rugged Ghost Mountain trail between Central and Northern.
Rachael Campbell is accompanying his author father and six other expatriate trekkers – Americans and Australians – who are taking on this grueling walk between Gabagaba in Central and Buna in Northern.
The 17-day trek will cover more than 200km through some of the most rugged terrain in the country, where there is little development.
Campbell is the author of Ghost Mountain Boys, which tells the story of this little-known trail which was used by American troops during World War Two, and which he walked in 2006.
The group, accompanied by Tourism Promotion Authority representative Nathan Lati, completed their first seven days of the trek at Laronu village in Rigo Inland yesterday.
“Pretty good,” Rachael Campbell told The National at Laronu yesterday.
“It’s beautiful.
“We’ve been through lots and lots of villages.
“We’ve had many welcomes.”
Campbell said what she had experienced in the remote villages was a far cry from the US.”