Pepperwood is another name for the California bay laurel, a tree whose leaves smell sharp and peppery when crushed, and the little community that took it as a name sits at the northern end of the Avenue of the Giants. It is a scatter of houses and a few farm buildings beside the Eel River, with redwoods behind and a flat river bottom in front, and it marks the point where the old highway meets the freeway again after its slow journey through the giants.
The area has a heavy history of timber. The big lumber company that owned much of this land built the nearby town of Scotia, one of the last company towns in America, with a mill on the river that processed redwood for decades. Houses were rented to workers, and a company store and a hall stood at the centre. You can still see the mill, and a small museum tells the story of the logging era, with its saws, teams and railways. The scale of the cutting explains why people fought to save what remains.
Floods have also shaped the valley. The Eel River is prone to dramatic winter floods, and in 1955 and 1964 great surges of water tore through the redwood groves, carrying away bridges, houses and even huge trees. High-water marks are painted on buildings in some places, and they climb well above head height, a vivid reminder of the forces at work in this landscape. In summer, the river drops to a gentle trickle, with gravel bars and swimming holes, and the valley feels peaceful.
The riding here is a gentle way to end the journey. The road runs close to the river, in easy curves with the trees thinning to open farmland and the hills of the Coast Range ahead. Traffic is light, but log trucks and sightseers are common. Rio Dell, a few kilometres on, has fuel and a few places to eat, and Fortuna, a larger town, has more stations, supermarkets and motels. The weather is mild and often foggy, particularly in the morning, and the climate is cool even in summer, so a jacket is useful. Spring brings wildflowers and green hillsides, while autumn is calm.