Eagerly seeking assistance... newby on the ground!

FWIW - get a full suspension bike for this ride, try to get the lightest you can. Test out a couple of saddles and find one you can ride on for hours(days). My understanding is that there are few if any 'technical' sections on this route but there are a lot of corrucations that take it out on your butt Make sure the bike fits you - if getting from a LBS get them to measure you and tell you what size frame and crank arms suits.

If you can and the team is settled try to get a similar bike to the rest of the team. If you are going with backup then spares can be exchanged.

My preferance for this would be a 29r but that may not be appropriate for you. Re Brand - Giant bikes are great quality and value, though the other well known brands are probably just as good. Try and see if there is a late model s/h Trance available in your size. Think the Halo is a discontinued model but not sure.

Hi. Is having a new bike important to you? If not, turn your $1000 dollars into $2000+; buy secondhand and you can get a far better bike that's still in good condition.

I won't' assume any experience or detailed knowledge, so will just mention some basic considerations when determining the right bike for you,

(1) The type of bike; hard tail or dual suspension.
What kind of riding will you do? Are you expecting to ride smooth, rolling hills, or uneven terrain, full of humps and bumps? Dual suspension bikes are fantastic for ironing out rough terrain, but hard tails can't be beaten when it comes to rides over smooth surfaces. The difference is weight and energy efficiency. There are more 'bits' on a dual suspension bike, so it'll always be significantly heavier. Heavy means 'hard'! Also, having suspension reduces pedaling efficiency. A lot of technology goes into making dual suspension bikes behave like hard tails. If you don't need rear suspension, you'll save money and effort, and you'll get much better results with a hard tail.

(2) Weight - and directly related to it - the level of components.
Having to move anything heavy takes effort. The lighter something is, the easier it'll be get it moving, and the easier it'll be to keep moving too. And this really is where buying 'not new' comes into it. Get a decent bike second hand, and it'll be significantly better than anything new at the same price. You'll get advantages in weight, and in the level of engineering of the parts. (Engineering? Think about can openers, and a manual versus an electric one. One you have to exert yourself and twist away at one, with the other you just 'plug' in and it does it's thing. Easy! Good components seem to make thing almost effortless. You have the advantage of knowing that all the effort you put in is going towards making the bike move, not in fighting clunky parts that don't function smoothly. Mentally, that's a very powerful driver.)

(3) Fit. Make sure the bike is the right size for you. 'Right' means ergonomically suitable, not 'comfortable'. My wife liked to be able to put both feet on the ground when she was sitting on the saddle. She might have felt comfortable, but that set up is very inefficient when it comes to pedaling. There are two major areas; height and length. You can adjust saddle height to get the right leg length, but it's also important that the length of the bike - how far you have to bend forward and reach for the handlebars - is right for you.

Advice? In your position, I'd go to my local bike shop and chat to them! This is a narea where your local bike shop (LBS) will be invaluable; they'll know biking, bikes and how to fit riders properly. (And having LBSs around to be able to perform this service is why it's always good to continue to support them!) They love what they do, love to share, and will be happy to establish a relationship with a new prospective customer. You may not buy a bike, but there'll be other things you need further down the line. You'll be able to cover a host of topics and considerations that'd take forever to deal with properly via email, online forums, etc. (Or maybe I'm just old school? )

Hope this helps. Regards, Adrian.

Whatever you chose, you're sure to enjoy the event. Just make sure you do the miles beforehand! MTBing can be a rigorous sport.