By SCOTT WEISSER
News Assistant City Editor

LIGONIER, Ind. — One of James Taylor’s more famous tunes poses a question: Who is this walking man?

The song is appropriately titled “Walking Man.” And had James Taylor been driving the stretch of U.S. 6 between Ligonier and Wawaka Friday, his question may have been answered. 

Joe Hurley is the walking man. Joe Hurley is not, however, out for a casual stroll.

In late March, the Connecticut resident set out on a mission that’s easy to describe, less so to achieve: Walk the length of the continental United States via U.S. 6, a trek of approximately 3,600 miles. He began his journey in Cape Cod, Mass., the idea being to eventually wind up in Southern California. By early Friday afternoon, he was about five miles east of Ligonier.

“Travel Route 6 and you’ll discover an America you’d never see from a superhighway,” reads an informational brochure describing Hurley’s adventure. “You’ll find women tending flower gardens, workers having coffee at the diner, kids playing in country towns and big cities. You’ll see dairy farms, cornfields, Great Lakes, deserts and oceans as you travel through more than 400 communities in 14 states. That’s what makes Route 6 ‘America’s Byway.’”

The intent behind the hike is to “meet everyday people in hamlets and big cities as (Hurley) searches for the heartbeat of America in the 21st Century.”

Thus far, Hurley has been walking about 20 miles a day, five days a week. His “off” days are used for writing, sending stories to newspapers and using vehicular travel to get to points of interest not right along the highway.

Menno-Hof, the Amish-Mennonite visitor’s center in Shipshewana, is one local spot visited by Hurley.

“It was a great experience,” he wrote in a journal entry on route6walk.com, an online account of his travels. “I now know a lot more about Mennonites, Hutterites and Amish than I did before. Of course, I knew just about nothing before.”

This isn’t the first time Hurley has walked U.S. 6, though his first outing was less expansive in scope. In 1999, longtime journalist Hurley walked across Connecticut’s portion of U.S. 6 accompanied by a photographer, with the duo daily filing articles and pictures. 

“Like a lot of states, in Connecticut one side of the state doesn’t know much about the other side,” he said. “So I thought it would be a good idea to walk across the state, and Route 6 went across the state.” 

His initial project was well-received, Hurley recalled. “So I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be neat to do the same kind of thing on the whole road?’”

This time around, Hurley is accompanied by photographer Travis Lindhorst, who drops him off in the morning and picks him up at the end of each day’s walk.

“Wednesday was the first day that I actually had to stop in the middle of the walk,” Hurley said. “We had lightning.” Walking in the rain is fine, according to Hurley. Lightning is another matter.

Hurley said he’s enjoyed Indiana, though he added that he liked his walk more farther back East, where the highway had wider aprons.

“Less chance of getting hit by a truck,” he said as vehicles noisily zoomed by.

Hurley has also enjoyed goodwill in terms of lodging along the way.

“We’ve been extremely lucky on that,” he said, estimating that three-quarters of his overnight stays have been offered free or at a discount.

Hurley has seen some interesting places since March, including the U.S. mint at West Point.

“It’s a place very few people get to go to,” he said. “For some reason, they let us in.”

At one point during the visit, Hurley was standing in the same room as approximately $120 billion worth of gold. “That leaves an impression,” he said. So does the security. 

“They measure all the metal in your body when you go in,” Hurley said; security personnel can tell, for example, the amount of fillings in one’s teeth. “Then they measure you again when you come out. And it better tally up.”

Hurley has also met a number of charitable folks during his time on the road.

“There’s been an awful lot of people who’ve given me stuff,” he said. Among them were the people of Frick Services in Wawaka, who invited him to lunch at the business Friday.