Growing a beard is an art. It takes time, patience (to get through the dreaded itch-crazy stage), and a whole lot of maintenance. But sometimes life leaves you no other choice than to let your whiskers roam free, further and further away from your face. Such was the case of this 61-year-old dude who spent about six months hiking the Appalachian Trail. (Sidenote, today is his birthday, happy birthday!) Like any human in 2015, he took plenty of selfies along the way to document his journey, which his son then posted to Reddit as a gif, alongside a map of his progress.

As you can clearly see, he starts of clean-shaven, rockets through the okay-for-business-casual stage, spends a brief moment looking almost like Santa, and then progresses to full-on wise wizard beard. And we have to say—though it could use some upkeep—he looks great with facial hair! If you're out there, mountain man (or your web-savvy son), we say keep it. As for the rest of you, maybe the Appalachian trail is just the kick you need to get your facial hair in check (provided you have six months to spare).

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