Searchers on ATVs found 12-year-old Jared Ropelato Saturday, making the reunion possible.
He got lost Friday while returning to camp in Utah's Ashley National Forest.
Ropelato was only wearing jeans and a shirt, and had no food or water. He depended on his survival skills, saying he built a lean-to shelter out of tree branches and covered himself in dirt to stay warm. Temperatures dipped to 31 degrees in the area overnight.
"He did everything right that he had learned at Scouts, not from me," said Ropelato's mother, Dawn Ropelato.
"I just like to say thank you for all the help that they gave. I was just glad that I could hear them and they could hear me," the boy said.
Ropelato was found in good health. He even said he wants to go camping again.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
