Hi all! I'm new to the forum. I've been lurking for quite awhile. I'm looking for a bike to ride the dirt roads of VT (and some pavement). I'm a mountain biker (yeti 575) so my first idea was to buy a hardtail with slick tires. Then I started googling! I do have a road bike (Trek 1500 WSD) that has 650 wheels, but the bike would not be good on dirt roads. Then I started looking at cyclocross bikes (Surly cross check). Which then lead to touring bikes and even 29ers. I'm basically all over the place. The dirt roads are quite hilly. So I'm looking for a bike that's not to heavy. Possibly with a triple. I think I really need to start test riding some to help narrow down my options. Right now on my list I have:

Surly Cross check
Surly LHT
Salsa Vaya
Bianchi volpe
Specialized Crosstrail
Jamis Coda Elite

I'm 5'4". But I don't know my inseam measurement. So I'm struggling with the geometry charts. I guess I need measurements! Any thoughts or help would be appreciated!