The collection contains photographs and news clippings regarding Lloyd F. Nelson, inventor of the "Trapper Nelson pack board," a backpacking frame with removable bag. Also included is a photograph of Edmond Meany, the president of the Seattle Mountaineering club.
This collection was purchased from Peter Blecha in 2023.
One of the early developers of the external frame for backpack, Lloyd F. Nelson got inspiration from his own experience hiking across Alaska to stake a land claim in 1920. The Trapper Nelson Pack Board replaced the rucksack, or "kidney buster" pack, with a wooden frame and canvas backboard that allowed a hiker to distribute the pack weight more comfortably over shoulders and hips and carry heavier loads with out the need to bend forward. A removeable canvas bag could be sized according to the volume of gear and supplies. After multiple prototypes and improvements, Nelson visited sporting goods and hardware stores in Seattle and Bremerton with a loaded pack to advertise. In time, the Trapper Nelson packboard was used to supply the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Army Mapping Service, and was unofficially the preferred pack of the Boy Scouts of America.
No restrictions on access, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
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Permission to publish material from the Trapper Nelson Packboard collection must be obtained from the
This photograph, likely taken to accompany the article, shows Nelson holding a "modern" version of his pack board.
This is a historic photograph, circa 1920, with Nelson and his daughter, Lois, riding in the pack.
Caption on reverse reads, "Edmond S. Meany - 15 years pres of Seattle Mountaineers. Known as "Big Chief" - in a characteristic pose while speaking to club on shores of Lake Chelan."