GPS units in the first few years of geocaching were expensive. The crappy ones that we take for granted now were expensive. Few people had them, and maps were another expensive addition to the models sold. Also, why did you have them? Avid hunters, backwoods explorers, would get them to help them out.
So caching was in the hands of the well off, well to do (for the most part). Few caches were out. When they were placed they were planned out, mostly well stocked and people traveled to them on purpose. When you arrived you brought something to trade, you knew how many caches you wanted to go to. Each cache had to be put in your hand, usually off of a printout that you carried with you. Downloading a Pocket Query into a GPS was unheard of.
Trackables were carefully monitored. There were not many caches at that point so it was rather simple.
Caches themselves were placed with care. You used to find caches that took someone to a cool, out of the way location. Cachers that tried to place micros, or caches in cities that were mocked and ridiculed by other cachers saying "that is not geocaching"