Personally I wouldn't want to ride a touring bike unless I was carrying heavy stuff. Some others don't seem to mind, but they are like tanks compared to the alternatives IMO. I never rode my touring bike much other than on tour and now that I have adopted a lighter packing style I haven't been on it even for multi-week and/or multi-thousand mile tours. I think that the Sojourn is more of a tank than some other touring bikes so I definitely wouldn't use it for what you are suggesting.

Personal preference but... For the use you describe, I'd pick something fairly sporty. In other words a road bike or maybe a cyclo-cross bike depending on the quantity and nature of the gravel trails you mentioned.