As elementary school kids, six friends recall spending weekends starting campfires, building shelters, camping in thick woods and fishing on a lake. These were routine Saturdays as Boy Scouts.

All but one started in the same Cub Scout pack, and all made their way through Boy Scouts as a unit. Now seniors in high school, the group of six is transitioning out of a program they have spent most of their lives working on, as they received their Eagle Scout badges.

Andrew Bernard, Kevin Cammarn, Bradley Schwarz, Triston Stegall, Chris Miramontes and Tyler Peterson, brought together by scouting, celebrated earning their Eagles on Feb. 11.

A life of scouting

In the Boy Scout program, close to 3 million youths belong to the organization. Only about 5 percent of all Boy Scouts become Eagle Scouts. In 2011, 12 scouts from Troop 39 in Matthews earned the Eagle honor, said Rick Peterson, troop committee member.

To earn an Eagle Scout badge, participants must be active in their troop, team, crew or ship for at least six months after achieving the rank of Life Scout. They then must earn a total of 21 merit badges, serve in a leadership position as a Life Scout, complete a service project, attend a Scoutmaster conference and complete a board review.

"They stuck together and leaned on each other as friends," said Scott Cammarn, assistant Scout Master. He said young men often do not earn the Eagle because social and academic pressures become more rigorous as Scouts enter high school.

Outside of scouting, the young men are involved in National Honor Society, cross-country, lacrosse, soccer, marching band, math honor society, theater and youth group, they said.

"Jobs, perfume and gasoline come into play," Cammarn said. "(So) it was really important they had each other."

The outdoors code

Together, the students have sailed in the Florida Keys, canoed rivers in Canada, caught sharks off the coast of South Carolina and traveled to Cimarron, N.M., to the Philmont Scout Reservation - one of their fondest memories as Scouts, most said.

Five had the opportunity to attend Philmont during the summer of 2011. The two-week trip involved white-water rafting, horseback riding and climbing Pikes Peak, which has an altitude of 14,110 feet above sea level.

Climbing with another friend, Bradley said he reached the top of the summit about 15 minutes before the rest of the troop. "It was awesome and it prompted me to climb an even larger mountain after that: Mount Rainier in Washington," he said.

For Andrew, his fondest memories are hiking Mount Baldy in New Mexico and participating in a wilderness survival campout. "Looking from the bottom up (at Mount Baldy), it looked straight up," Andrew said. "And there were no trees up there, so I felt like I was on the top of the world."

During the campout, "we had to make a shelter for the night with a space blanket, sticks and leaves," Andrew said. "That was interesting - and kind of like Bear Grylls," he said. (Grylls is the star of the Discovery Channel's "Man vs. Wild," an adventure/survival show.)

Chris recalls racing cars during Cub Scouts. "We would do these pinewood derbies, where we would make cars out of wood and race them down a track."

'Do a good turn daily'

Scouts must remember the Boy Scout slogan: "Do a Good Turn Daily." Those turns can be as grand as saving a life or providing aid in natural disasters, or as simple as helping a neighbor or welcoming a new student at school.

"A Good Turn is more than simple good manners. It is a special act of kindness," according to the Boy Scout website. Cammarn has seen his Scouts perform multiple acts of kindness - some even heroic, he said.

Two years ago, while on a winter hike at Stone Mountain in Western North Carolina, a Scout collapsed from exhaustion because of a strenuous hike and lack of fluids. Cammarn said it was the now Eagles that built a shelter and started a fire in wet conditions to help their sick friend.

"I told them it was an emergency and we've got to get a fire going," Cammarn said. "These guys know how to handle bad situations."

Kevin said he has learned that "you have to be capable of dealing with any situation."

'Be prepared'

For the past 13 years or so, the group of friends said, they have learned the meaning of the Boy Scouts' motto: "Be prepared."

"It's having a plan 'B' for everything," Triston said.

As the Scouts prepare to graduate from high school, their former Scout Master, Joe Culpepper, said he offers them advice in the form of a Scout coin depicting the Boy Scout oath. "If you carry this (coin) with you and find yourself in trouble, you can reach inside and there will probably be an answer."

Reflecting on why they originally joined the Scouts, the young men agreed: It's a love for the outdoors - and brotherly camaraderie.