'You got this': University of Montana grad student leads women in wildfire training

MISSOULA — To become a wildland firefighter, you must pass the pack test. Often considered the most daunting requirement of wildland certification, the test requires fire trainees walk 3 miles in less than 45 minutes while carrying a 45-pound pack, simulating the physical demands of working on a fire line.

Knowing her trainees were nervous, Mikaela Balkind and her co-instructors showed up to the pack test wearing matching disco ball earrings. She applied glitter to the cheeks of anyone who needed some extra encouragement. She cheered them on as their sparkling faces charged through the trees and over the finish line.

The pack test took place on the final day of the Women in Wildfire Training held this fall at the University of Montana’s Lubrecht Experimental Forest. Inspired by her own e