Hopefully revisiting this thread won't restart some of the conflict . . . but my question seems more relevant to this thread than to others.

I'm considering a Deadwood as a general touring bike that can do plus tires when necessary (think Baja Divide) and also be an effective touring bike on traditional pavement tours. I'm curious in opinions from others.  Some caveats:
- I think I can summarize some of the conflicts in the thread above by suggesting that the Deadwood can handle singletrack with fewer compromises than some other rigid bikes like pre-2017 Fargos, but it isn't even remotely a replacement for a proper FS mountain bike.  I get that.  I have almost zero intention of riding a Deadwood on trails, other than the occasional bits that show up on some bikepacking routes, or the occasional foray onto singletrack out of boredom.  So lets not discuss its trailworthiness.
- the BB drop on a Deadwood is actually pretty normal, perhaps even on the high side, by pure touring bike standards (some touring bikes go as far as 80mm drop).  So I expect no real issues if I run 700x35 tires on a road tour. 
- the 70 deg head angle is my biggest concern.  I expect the steering could be a *bit* wonky with 700x35 rubber on smooth pavement, but probably not hard to adapt to. 
- the tall stack / headtube shouldn't be a problem for me, since I'm 6'4".  Will probably run a flat to negative rise stem to yield a bar setup closer to a traditional road/tour rig than the uber-tall setup that is optimal for in-the-hooks trail riding.

Am I missing something?  The 2017 Fargo's are pretty damn similar to the Deadwood, but they go even further on the HA (69 deg IIRC), so arguably less suited to my application.

There are loads of options for a touring rig, but few/none of them can handle 3" tires.  This rig will be purpose built (including S&S coupler retrofit) to support 6 to 8 major international tours, ranging from Baja Divide to Himalayas to Australian and NZ pavement.  Much of this travel will be in sequence (impractical to swap out bikes), so I really need one semi-versatile bike to support all the use cases.

An alternative is a custom build.  Which I can afford, and am considering, but am not convinced there will be significant benefit above/beyond an XL Deadwood.

I saw several inquiries higher in the thread about fishing, but no responses.  I'm in a similar situation (tenkara rod and very much a mountain biker more than a fisherman) so would REALLY benefit from any fishing-fluent people highlighting some of the better fishing opportunities on the loop.

This might influence my planned overnight locations.  Of course, we all know those evolve as the trip progresses . . .

Alright I guess its my turn to comment on my experience ...

My times;
Stage
1   6:08:09
2   9:55:32
3   9:07:13
4   6:34:14


I started Saturday morning w/ Mike, Matt and Blake.  Good first hour.  Then the mud.  I've lived through clay hell once before on the Mah Deh Hey in North Dakota, so wasn't surprised but was plenty annoyed.  I had to remove my rear wheel a half dozen times to clear mud.  But eventually the singletrack gave way to road and conditions improved enough to make reasonable progress.  Got to the Sedona overlook w/ Mike and Blake and chilled out for 30+ minutes to relish the passing of the mud and the beauty of Sedona.  Then onward.  Blake and I stayed together on stage 2, not out of planning, but just coincidentally similar speeds.  Night fell midway on Lime Kiln.  the sand wasn't as problematic as the primitive grassy singletrack, which very difficult to distinguish at night.  We food'ed up in Cottonwood, suffered up Mingus, and were in our bags by midnight.

Sunday Blake, Matt and I started together, not early.  Matt was soon off the front.  The water at Coyote was good and clear, btw.  Filtered w/ Blake again at the Verde, then I got caught up in the scenery, the nice dirt roads through the forested areas, and the great weather.  Bill Williams was OK going up, until I discover a broken link on my rear suspension.  I nursed my bike up and over to Williams.  The snow on the north side of Bill Williams was substantial, 4-6 inches in pockets at the top, and compromising the trail down to 8000' or lower.  Then I met the worlds largest rock water bars . . . one after the other.  I can't imagine the scale of water flow that justifies such tall rocks.  Stopped periodically to re-insert the broken suspension link.

Nice relaxing night in Williams.  Sorry for the snoring Matt.  

The fast start today helped psyche me up.  Great weather again.  A temporary fix for my pivot with a bottle cage bolt surprisingly held all day, including the final great lava-dodging descent into Flagstaff.

I really enjoyed the course and meeting the other folks out there.  Looking forward to seeing some of you at other events.

Cheers,
Tom

First of all, thanks to Kurt for the excellent condition report earlier in the thread.  I've got some additional questions to help my planning.

I've summarized all the water sources below, and am soliciting additional knowledge/confirmation on these sources.  Specifically:
 - are any of the sources noted below NOT viable?
 - are any of them off course more than 100 meters or so?
 - am I correct in understanding that the Texaco at ~ mile 203 has water available 24 hours if purchased from a vending machine?
 - only Coyote, Verde and Alfa Fria will require filtering; all others are potable?
 - did I miss any sources?

It looks like Verde to Williams is the longest stretch, unless the Texaco isn't a solid source, in which case Williams to Alfa Fria is a pretty long distance between water.

Thanks in advance for replies . . . I suspect this will help others in addition to me.

Mile
0     Flagstaff
23   Pinegrove CG
30   Dairy Springs CG
45   ADOT spigot
58   Sedona
68   Oak Creek
72   Red Rock SP
89   Cottonwood
113  Coyote Spring
133  Verde River
172  Williams
203  Texaco
225  Alfa Fria tank
240  Flagstaff

What are people planning for lodging in Williams?

I'm contemplating a mixed ITT/stage ride, leaving Sat morning from Flagstaff and riding straight through to Williams in one push, lodging with other racers in Williams on Sunday night, and riding the fourth stage on Monday with others.

Ideally I'd like to share a hotel room with others in Williams.  Not sure if I'll get to Williams before most stage racers or after . . . hopefully I'll be there by mid-day if all goes as planned.