I mainly ask because I know I prefer the feel of a vintage lugged steel (nice quality, not a cheap old POS) road bike compared to a newer stiff framed aluminum road bike.

The only real trail riding I've done yet has been on a steel framed 94 Giant Yukon, so I don't know if maybe I won't like a newer stiff aluminum MTB. From my limited experience, it doesn't seem like it would make as much of a difference on a MTB, though since there isn't as much weight on your hands/wrists, you're out of the saddle most of the time anyway, and you have big vibration absorbing tires on softer ground vs. narrow hard tires on unforgiving pavement.

Any thoughts from anyone who has done some road and MTBing?