After 49 days, 484 miles, and thousands of meters of elevation gain and drop, Enumclaw resident Becky Rush-Peet reached Santiago de Compostela on Nov. 2, completing her Camino pilgrimage 5 years and 314 days since a falling tree nearly killed her and left her and several others with debilitating injuries.

Over that nearly six-year period, Rush-Peet has demonstrated the astounding power of the human body to heal. From being in a coma to using a wheelchair and a walker, she has now finished walking about as far as the distance from Seattle to Helena, Montana.

Rush-Peet completed her first pilgrimage along the Camino in 2018, walking 62 miles over about 10 days. This time, she went about twice as fast and nearly eight times as far.

Her pilgrimage this year across the Iberian Peninsula still took longer than most, Rush-Peet said. She has six pins in her ankle, and managed a maximum of around 12.5 miles each day to avoid injury. Still, she beat the two-month prediction she made when interviewed by the Courier-Herald about the then-upcoming journey in September.

Her youngest daughter, Katie Peet, designed a patch that Rush-Peet sewed onto her pack while she walked. It featured a strolling turtle nicknamed “La Tortuga Peregrina” (the pilgrim tortoise) with the words “Llego cuando llego” (I arrive when I arrive).

“La Tortuga” patch made by Katie Peet.

Katie, then a junior at Enumclaw High School, was in the car with Rush-Peet at the time of the accident and walked away from it with only a couple of stitches. She is set to graduate from the Digipen Institute of Technology with a BFA in Digital Art and Animation in April, 2022.

For more pictures and information on Rush-Peet’s journey, visit https://www.facebook.com/beckyandjenniferfriends.

Becky Rush-Peet stands triumphantly in front of the Cathedral of St. James in the city of Santiago de Compostella, the end of her nearly 500-mile and 49 day journey on the Camino de Santiago.