I had the privilege to backpack the Valley back in '87 and my partner and I climbed to the top of that boulder'd plug.  It was eerily "alive" with steam and the aroma of sulfur emanating from cracks and the boulders themselves were strangely unstable, as if they are constantly being jostled by unseen forces beneath.   The entire area was like a scene from the Jurassic, steam vents pluming on the sides of Mt. Trident, lenticular clouds morphing with glaciers sweeping down from the heights contrasting the barren landscape itself strewn with pieces of pumice that sometimes flew through the air, born on the wind's venturi effect in Katmai Pass.   It was a trek of a lifetime I'll never forget.