SNOQUALMIE PASS -- Autumn-red huckleberry bushes, dressing up nearby ski slopes and clearcuts, alert Pacific Crest Trail through-hikers they are closing in on the nearest hot tub, with only 262 miles to the Canada finish line.

Hiker Kerry Smith, 28, of Newton, N.J., immediately removes her boots at the Summit Inn, hobbling across the comfy carpet of the first motel she and her fiancé have seen in weeks. Like most through-hikers, they have been awed by the natural glories of three states -- California, Oregon and Washington -- along the arduous 2,600-mile trail from Mexico. But the thought of resumed hiking makes Smith wince.

"It's not the shoes, it's the mileage," she says.

In coming weeks, congressional budget writers could affect some of that mileage, both along the 500-mile Washington stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail, and in parts of Oregon and California. Although immense stretches of the trail are pristine and protected by public ownership, the Pacific Crest Trail has troublesome sections that are privately owned, subject to development interests inconsistent with the purpose and spirit of the trail, say backpackers, horse riders, conservationists and other trail supporters.

Their concern has heightened with news that the U.S. Senate's budget bill, for the first time in six years, has not earmarked money for public land acquisition for the Pacific Crest Trail from its past source, the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. Trail supporters fear the House, also in a budget-tightening mode, will follow suit.

"It really puts our land acquisition program in jeopardy," said Liz Bergeron, executive director of the Pacific Crest Trail Association, based in Sacramento, Calif. The association includes about 4,500 members, many living in Washington state.

Bergeron, in town recently to attend a national trails conference, said there are an estimated 300 miles along the three-state recreational and historic route considered unprotected because of private-property interests, with about 20 miles in Washington considered "high priority" on the association's congressional lobbying list.

Short- and long-term threats to Washington trail access and enjoyment include clearcuts and continued logging, mining claims, proposed housing developments or cabins, ski-area expansions and possible detours for lack of easements. Smith said that in California hikers were forced around private property through the Mojave Desert.

There has been strong support in Washington state for the Pacific Crest Trail, which winds through a critical north-south wildlife corridor.

Last week, the Cascades Conservation Partnership, a non-profit organization based in Seattle, announced the purchase of the ninth of 10 parcels it has targeted along the Pacific Crest Trail between the heavily clearcut Snoqualmie and Naches passes. The 650-acre parcel at Stirrup Lake near Stampede Pass cost $184.4 million. [Correction: According to the Forest Service, the correct cost of the 650-acre parcel was $184,448 and not $184 million.] Like other parcels, it was bought by the U.S. Forest Service from Plum Creek Timber Co. with significant contributions from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Plum Creek is also willing to sell the 10th parcel at Stampede Pass for about $1 million. Conservationists say the deal could be sealed if the Land and Water Conservation Fund is unlocked.

"We have all this momentum over the last three years, with the Cascades Conservation Partnership and the rest of the environmental community working hard to identify and obtain the land, and Plum Creek willing to sell," said Steve Johnson, land staffer for the Okanogan-Wenatchee Forest.

"It's an opportune time to help whittle the list."

Trail supporters and local conservationists have credited hard work by the Washington congressional delegation, notably Sen. Patty Murray and Reps. Jennifer Dunn and Norm Dicks, for helping to steer Land and Water Conservation Fund money to Washington -- and for continuing to fight for funding for fiscal year 2004.

Through-hikers -- those who spend months doing the trail from start to finish -- say the clearcuts south of Snoqualmie Pass are particularly noticeable.

Kimber and Cesar Rodgers of California hiked under The Summit chairlifts and emerged last week from the trailhead at Snoqualmie Pass after several months on the trail. They were treated to an elaborate "reunion" tailgate picnic by Kimber's parents, who drove here from Kansas. The famished hikers praised the trail, but expressed dismay with the clearcuts. They preferred sections like the High Sierra, where there were no ski lifts, roads or power lines.

"They were cutting trees while we hiked through," said Kimber Rodgers, 28. "I looked down (the slope) and saw a tree fall -- I was so upset, I was crying. I knew clearcutting went on in California, too, but I was surprised at how much it affected me."

Charlie Raines, director of land and public funding for the Cascades Conservation Partnership, acknowledged that much of the recently purchased land, including Stirrup Lake, is heavily logged. But trees grow back, he said.

"Right now my top priority is to get funding for the PCT, particularly near Stampede and Stevens passes, because otherwise we'll see more logging on it if we're unable to acquire it," Raines said. "Even the president sought $3 million (for land acquisition along the trail). It's disturbing that next year's appropriation seems to have no dollars for the Pacific Crest Trail."

Johnson said there are parcels where access could become an issue, including land with multiple ownerships, mining, railroad and timber rights, or where there are no formal easements.

"The trail as it stands is accepted, even by landowners, as a thoroughfare, because of a longtime pattern of use," Johnson said. "But there are sections where hikers are technically trespassing."

Ron Clark, general manager of the Summit Inn at Snoqualmie, figures he plays host to more than 100 through-hikers a year. There are economic benefits to towns along the route, Clark said, especially for businesses providing food, coin-operated laundries, shelter -- and hot tubs.

If Pacific Crest Trail land acquisition is, as Johnson put it, "a matter of perseverance," the same can be said about through-hikers. They say there is no question the trail is worth protecting.

Cesar Rodgers and Kerry Smith said their memories of their hike will include not only the solitude and scenery, but the kindness of strangers. They praised volunteer "trail angels" who set out Gatorade and water for parched hikers at various points.

"People look out for each other," Cesar Rodgers said. "It's a small community."

Smith said she was inspired by "bald eagles in the wild, crystal-clear lakes, huge sky and sunrise on Lookout Mountain."

She loved being unplugged -- from cars, television, cell phones, phones, computers.

"There's something about the rhythm of the day, and getting somewhere on your own two feet, rolling with the seasons, that's really satisfying," she said.

At the end, the Pacific Crest Trail is about persevering, she said.

"Society doesn't really teach you to stick with anything; you can get out of marriage, jobs, almost anything," she said. "Here, you must finish -- and I will, even if I have to crawl to get there."

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Cascades Conservation Partnership: 206-675-9747 or www.cascadespartners.org

Washington Trails Association: 206-625-1367 or www.wta.org

Pacific Crest Trail Association: 916-285-1846 or www.pcta.org