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Joe Hurley's taking a little walk-about a million footsteps-and says he's discovering America along the way. By Laura Bacon, NT Staff Writer Hurley is following Route 6, as it meanders from Cape Cod to southern California, all the way across America, on foot. He walks about 20 miles a day five days a week, taking an occasional day off to write, take pictures and visit points of interest off his route. Hurley is a reporter, and said he had spent 30 years working as a reporter in Connecticut, when he realized that people in western Connecticut didn't know about the people in eastern Connecticut. In 1999 he walked across Connecticut along Hwy. 6, writing articles and taking pictures. And then he found out how long Hwy. 6 was. "I was curious about where Hwy. 6 actually went," he said, adding that he thought it would be neat to walk Hwy. 6 coast to coast, to see what the people of Connecticut-and the rest of the country-were like. And along the way, he got a chance to learn about the heartbeat of America. He started the walk in December and said he knew he could walk about 20 miles a day, but added, "I didn't know if I could keep it up week after week." He's been able to do it so far, and he's almost half-way through his trek, "but at about mile 17 it gets really hard," he said. He said he was surprised to see how many hills Iowa had, and noted that on Tuesday alone two different people had stopped to offer him a ride when they saw him walking down the highway. People in rural areas were more friendly, he said, noting one of the most memorable experiences of his trip was traveling through White Mills, Penn., which he described as an old mill town. While he was walking, he said, "a kid came up to me with a dollar bill and a banana, to help speed me along my way." Hurley said he had many such memories. While he walks five days a week, he does get periodic days off to do some sight seeing. "If you get a chance, you should visit the Rialto Theater in Joliet," he said, talking about one of the places he got to see along the way. "It's one of the grandest theaters in the country." Hurley also remembered a special visit to the West Point Mint Facility in New York. "They don't usually give tours to the public," he said, but noted with a couple weeks of arranging, he got a chance to take a look. "I was standing in a room with 120 billion dollars worth of gold bullion," he said. And while there are many things to see along the road, sometimes the walk is quiet, giving him time to think. "There haven't been many people on the road the past few days," he said, noting it gave him time to run through the many stories he still had to write about his journey. Hurley is writing and publishing stories along the route, but said he may have to write a book to get all of those other, still unwritten stories in. While it looks like Hurley is completely alone, he does have "company" along the route. Each day his photographer/driver drops him off at the beginning of his route, and at the end of the day, picks him up to take him where they will stay for the night. In Atlantic, Hurley was staying at the SF Martin House, and then planned to walk to Oakland. When bad weather threatens, Hurley can call his driver on a cell phone and arrange to be picked up, and he said stormy weather had interrupted his trip twice recently. He planned to get to the west coast some time in November. "I figured it out and it's about a million steps," he said. Copyright © 2004 Atlantic News Telegraph
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Joe Hurley was walking through Atlantic on Tuesday afternoon, despite the heat. He started out his day in Adair and was headed for the SF Martin House where he would stay the night before heading for Oakland on Wednesday. Photo by Laura Bacon