I road the Great Divide from Eureka to Helena this summer. I was on a hardtail 29er and carried my load on a Bob trailer. It was a rough route, and I was very glad to have the front suspension. I would have liked full suspension even more. I could put a rack on the back of my hardtail; with full-suspension I think the trailer would be the only way to go. I put a Thudbuster seatpost on, and was very glad I did. It smoothed out some of the jarring on my bum.