More along the lines of a good hardtail mountain bike. 25 to 30 lbs depending on what else is put on the bike. My T800 weighs about the same as my 04 Stumpjumper.

The Trek is a good bike. I looked at it when I was shopping for touring bikes. I've also looked at Cannondale (which I bought), the Fuji Touring (which I just bought for my daughter), the Trek, the REI, the Biachi Volpe and a couple of others. The geometries of each go from really good to okay. Some are a bit short for my tastes in touring bikes - the Volpe and the REI - and others weren't stiff enough for my rather beefy frame, but all of them were capable. It comes down to price and the lust factor. I have lusted after a Trek and a Cannondale forever. The Cannondale was on sale that day so it won.

Same with the Fuji. My daughter wants to try loaded touring with me this summer. The Fuji was a 2001 model that a local shop had on sale for $500. It's a good bike with only a few flaws so I bought it and fixed the flaws.

YMMV.