Hunting the secret cyber-stash. The advent in May 2000 of non-degraded GPS services for civilians has led to the new activity of geocaching. ‘Someone
hides a “stash” — usually a large Tupperware container
filled with assorted goodies — in an interesting,
out-of-the-way place, and records the exact coordinates with
a GPS device. Those coordinates, along with a few helpful
hints, are posted to the geocaching Web site. The stash
seekers then use their GPS systems to find the treasure.
Each person who locates the stash adds an entry to the
included log book, takes one of those goodies, replaces it
with one of their own, and then re-hides the container…

The log book… includes about 20
entries from visitors (some of whom stumbled across the
stash unintentionally). “Humans are strange and wonderful”
says one hiker, who also uses the space to shill his band, the
Radiant Radishes. “You should be looking for natural food
to eat from indigenous plants,” writes another. “Survival
will not depend on your G.P.S.” And my favorite: “In our
unemployed state we went hiking on the coastal trail, and
found this treasure. We have left behind the keys to our
failed dot-com. Hopefully they will help someone. Cheers.” ‘ Salon