Gary Kerastury stands on a mountaintop along the Appalachian Trail. The retired West Virginia state trooper from Eleanor has been walking the trail since March.

Gary Kerastury was clean shaven when he registered in March at the start of the Appalachian Trail near Amicalola Falls Park in Springer Mountain, Ga.

Nearly six months into Gary Kerastury's trek, the former West Virginia State Police trooper sports a bushy beard.