I was away from internet access for a couple weeks when this thread started. A year and a half ago I was building up another touring bike. I asked a bike shop mechanic that I respect what he thought of a particular touring rear hub that sold for over $100, he said that if he was building up a touring bike that he would only use a hub with quarter inch steel ball bearings. I decided to buy a Shimano M756A rear hub, that is an XT that has a steel axle and disc rotor mount.

I am sure you already have ideas on what you want so I won't bother suggesting things that might conflict with your ideas. But I will say that for touring you want robust, reliable, easy to replace and easily repairable parts.

Rims, the 26 inch ones I like are no longer made, thus I have no suggestion. I did build up a set of Velocity Dyad 700c wheels for my newest touring bike, if there is a 26 inch equivalent that would be one to look at. But since she is light and won't be carrying much load, perhaps look for a lighter set of wheels than you would normally put on a touring bike? When I go rim shopping, the first thing I do is decide what range of tire widths I would want on that bike. I then use the graphic on the bottom of this page to tell me what inner rim width I want.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

Once I know inner rim width, then I research the rims that meet that criteria.