I don't think he is in way over his head so much as his interpretation of offroad touring is completely different. I'm an advocate of rackless riding, but it depends on the intended load. He didn't mention how long he wanted to go without resupply, or if he even intended to resupply at all.

However, all this talk of super strong racks and plywood, etc. does seem overkill. Most of the CDT is basically gravel road riding with lots of climbing, depending on the section. I have a good friend that finished the Tour Divide race earlier this year. The most technical stuff in that race was a bit of single track somewhere up north, but the majority of the terrain is really pretty easy going, at a touring pace anyway. And as someone else mentioned, even if you use a cheap rack, you may find if you go even relatively light on the camping gear, the rack will do just fine for the trip. Except maybe the cheap one will last a few years where a BG rack will take several years of beatings.

The reason I prefer bags over racks is because even with the "light" offerings, you're generally adding 3 pounds of crap for a rear rack and panniers before you can even add the gear you actually need. So think for a minute how much weight you're adding by going for heavy duty racks front and rear AND attaching plywood to it and then throwing bags on it, all before you even add the stuff you actually need. I'm thinking ten pounds minimum. I'm not saying no to racks, I'm just saying you may want to reevaluate the requirements of the ride before you over build your bike unnecessarily. EDIT: Just reread and realized the plywood approach was intended for the cheap rack. If you want to go with a rack, the BG route would be infinitely better than putting wood on a cheap rack.

If you're curious about rackless offroad touring, check out www.bikepacking.net to check out other people's setups and rigs.