Soft tail? New to mountain biking...Help...

[milkbone]

Hi, everyone - I'm new to the mountain biking scene - I purchased a Trek 4300 last year with the intention of just riding the neighborhood with my kids or a nature trail or two. I never knew it could be so addicting : ) My BF and I have riden a few of the mountain bike trails in the area and I love it, but some of the obstacles and uphills are a bit hard still. I mostly attribute this to my lack of experience, and sometimes blame the bike LOL.

I was looking at a Trek WSD Fuel EX 5.5 - Trek's entry level soft tail, I was also looking at the Santa Cruz Julianna (but have no idea where I could test ride one), and maybe Specialized or Cannondale - so as you see I haven't really narrowed down my search yet.

I used to ride motocross until I had a bad wreck almost 4 years ago (broke my neck in 3 places and half my jaw is titanium) - never did I think I would ever get on anything with two wheels again - but here I am.

Thanks in advance, Ladies. Any advice/support/etc will be greatly appreciated.