In the scholastic world of Earth sciences, Mt. Ives is most famous for having absolutely nothing to distinguish it from any other average hill in Southern Ohio. No interesting mineral outcroppings; no steep cliffs; no waterfalls; no caverns. The altitude and slope are average and the flora and fauna are precisely what one would expect. What a yawn.
It does, however, have one interesting fact in its history. No, I know of no Revolutionary War battles that were fought there, nor any from the War of 1812, or the Civil War, or even a skirmish with the Shawnee who were the first “owners” of the hill. Tecumseh is honored (at least during the summer months) at Sugarloaf to the north, and Chief Logan permanently next door to the south. Mt. Ives is known because it was not always known as it now is known. Confused? Don’t feel bad, so was the USGS for decades and decades. The story is that after the official USGS survey was concluded, the documentation, maps and measurement were presented to a clerk in the office for transcription onto the respective, “Chillicothe East” quad. My guess is that this was a summer-help college kid whose parents told him that he had to get a taste of life in the real world if he expected them to continue to pay for his tuition. At any rate, whoever it was misread the survey documents and labeled Mt. Ives as “Mt. Eyes”. If you can get your hands on a 1961 data Chillicothe East quad even as late as the 1985 revision, it will show the hill with the incorrect name. The latest published quads show the correct “Mt. Ives” labeling.
But it didn’t happen without a fight. Several years ago two descendants of the owner for whom the hill was really named got mad as the dickens and couldn’t take it anymore and approached the USGS with the documentation that proved that an “official” error had been made and that, by golly, it needed to be fixed. Armed with nothing more than facts, logic, and common sense, these two ladies were able to get a government institution to admit to an error and to fix it upon the next publication. Can you believe this?!?! Facts, logic, and common sense and Washington listened?!?!
Kind of sounds like Mt. Ives has a lot more significance than I at first suspected!
Please be aware that the parking lot lies at approxamently 820' above sea level and that this cache is placed at an elevation of about 1200'. For a gentle grade follow the path that begins at the west end of the parking lot. Leave the tweezers at home, but bring gloves.
As for the hint, my apologies to Dr. Anon Y. Mous, Poet Laureate, and Professor of English Literature, University of Knickerfetchan, Scotland.