One of the main reasons Dad and I chose to head down south again for our road trip was to see the new tower they built on the top of Sassafras Mountain, the highest point in South Carolina. It was recently reopened a few months ago so we decided to head down and check it out.
The first thing I noticed about the new highpoint was the fact that I wasn’t swarmed with bugs. Last time I was there the bugs were TERRIBLE! As we started to hike up the steep paved section we noticed that there weren’t any wildflowers like the last time. Maybe this could be the reason for the lack of bugs? It seemed like the entire top was covered in a layer of stones and mulch – and of course the new tower.
There are various trails that lead to the top, so it was still very natural in those areas right off the highpont, but I noticed graffiti which wasn’t there last time we went. It’s just really sad that it seems like people have a need to wreck things that don’t belong to them.
Sassafras Mountain 
The new tower looks pretty much like the tower at Mount Mitchell, the highpoint of North Carolina, which is very close by.
I was a little confused about the “disability route” to the top. It wasn’t paved and as we were getting ready to hike up we noticed someone with a wheelchair struggling over the stones to try to go up it. There was literally a sign that said something like Disability Route with an arrow pointing the direction they were going. They eventually gave up and headed up the very steep paved section. I felt bad because there was not really any way we could help them. Then there was a ramp to get to the top of the tower, but there was nothing paved connecting what they just came up to the ramp so they had to go over more stones and mulch. It didn’t seem very accessible to me, but maybe there are plans in the future to pave these areas?
I thought the compass on the floor of the tower was beautiful and the view was nice, but I think I liked it better before – more natural. I wish they would have made it more unique than just sort of cloning Mount Mitchell.
blisters and bug bites 