I have the '06 Tricross Comp. I credit card toured with it in Nova Scotia. Nothing huge, but I had Arkel T-42 rear panniers and a Tail Rider on OMM Sherpa rack. It worked great! I have yet to put a front rack or panniers, but looking to give it a go this summer.
The bike is extremely stable, and out of the box, was more than able to shoulder the load. No camping gear, but the panniers were full of clothing and gear. It has compact gearing, and really didn't lament for lowering gearing on this trip. However, more hills, heavier load, I would probably want to go lower.
The reason I used a Sherpa rack instead of a Red Rock is because of the frame. I had a real problem mounting a Blackburn rack on the rear chainstay eyelets. One eyelet was misaligned and the rack doesn't center over the tire. I'm being anal, but I had to bend the rack to get it to fit, and it still was off center. So I went with the Sherpa with its axle mounting design. Voila, rack mount was centered and no bending required.
I thought the defect in my frame was just limited to mine, but I noticed in another BF member's pix that his Tricross had the same issue. He didn't particularly care, but I did.
I recommend the Tricross as a do-it-all bike: commuting, road riding, club rides, some off-road, and touring for a weekend to a week long. I wouldn't want to use it for a transcontinental, fully-loaded tour. BTW the '07 Comp comes with a triple, so it's better geared for heavy touring.