If I'm correct in reading that your warm side gets up to 98F, that temp is dangerously high for your snake unless you are talking about surface temps on a very limited basking area. If ambient temps get that high then please make some adjustments so that the highest temp doesn't go over about 90F.
There's nothing inherently bad about misting - just don't mist your snake directly (a few individuals seem to like this; most don't) and you don't want overtly wet substrate. When we talk about humidity for snakes, we're talking about moisture in the air around them, and sitting on wet substrate isn't what we're aiming for. You want the substrate to feel barely damp to the touch but not to drip water if you squeeze it; you're sort of looking for that feeling you get if you pick up a handful of earth on the forest floor.
As others have suggested, providing a humidity hide is a great option, as this allows the snake to choose whether and when they want to be in a 'micro climate' with higher humidity.
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