two things--firstly, about the cross brake levers, you should be able to just angle them down more to have room for a handlebar bag if ever you go that route, or at least tilt them down (I find they still work fine tilted down) if you would like to visit some stores and see if a bar bag attachment system fits on alright (also, be careful of some very wide bags that could squirsh the brifter cables too much)

secondly, your model of tricross with the double cranks may have a wheelset with perhaps 24 spokes or thereabouts (my more heavy Tricross Sport with a triple crank has 32 spoke wheels) so depending on your weight, plus whatever weight you end up packing, could put you at risk for rear wheel spoke issues. (which is a pain in the rear, and that you would want to avoid). You would want to get some properly informed opinions on your wheelset and the total weight that will be on the rear wheel.
Put up a photo of it, and then start throwing crap into your panniers plus tent to get an idea of how many lbs are involved (probably 20-25?)