alpacalypse

If you think the bike will be comfortable over long distances, and there are no practical barriers to riding it, I don't see why not. Purpose-built touring bikes tend to be built to go long distances with loads, and most people prefer them, but fit is the most important part of the equation and if your bike fits you may not want to mess with it. Remember that mountain bikes actually take some heritage from touring bikes (along with a healthy dose of balloon-tire cruisers).

You might want to get a rigid fork, which will be lower maintenance, lighter, and possibly stiffer, but that's not really necessary. The one real advantage of a rigid fork would be greater ease in mounting a front rack, although Old Man Mountain makes racks that will mount to unmodified suspension forks.

The review in your link says that your frame has rack mounts, so a rack and panniers on the rear will be quite easy to install.

If you're not sure about how the bike will handle under load, buy an adjustable or one-size-fits-all rack. That way, if you turn out to want a proper touring bike, you can reuse it to upgrade whatever you end up getting.

Edit: OOohhh... I missed the part in the review where it says your bike has hydraulic discs. If you're going to be touring with access to bike shops, that probably isn't something to worry about, but hydraulics are pretty hard to service on the road. Switching to cable-actuated discs might make sense, in which case you'll need new levers and calipers.