I recently bought a second hand cycle cross bike precisely for fast day trips and ultralight touring. Mine is an old steel one, and that is obviously more suitable than the modern ones with carbon forks etc. I bought it from a former pro racer, so it is the real thing. The bad news about that is that therefore it has neither mudguard nor rack eyelets, nor bottle cage mounts, or whatever. And the gearing is a bit high. But it is a nice ride: with 35 mm Pasela's it not only copes comfortably with tarmac, but also with the many gentle forest trails around here. If I were looking for something new now, I would get a Surly Cross Check. That will take fast 37 mm tyres like Pasela's, with mudguards, and a light rack like a Tubus Fly. Finally, the gearing can be lowered at little cost. Obviously, for heavier loaded touring on bad roads I would use a LHT with 26 inch wheels instead.
I bought the cross bike to supplement my very nice custom loaded tourer with drops and 26 inch wheels. That is a great bike, but unloaded it is a bit heavy and stiff. I had a road bike with 32 mm maximum tyres, and I decided I needed wider tyres than that, both for comfort, and for the forest trails.
Willem