Summer can make for dangerous heat and sun exposure, and extreme care should be taken when hiking in the heat. In general when hiking, you should carry at least half a liter of water per hour of moderate activity — more when it’s hot — and avoid trails with excessive sun exposure. Find more information on hiking in the heat and how to assess the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke here. Don’t let the name of this ecological preserve fool you: Wright’s Field is so much more than a simple field. The 245-acre area in Alpine, located just behind Joan MacQueen Middle School, includes an open grassland that’s home to a variety of native species, along with a manmade rock wall dating back to 19th century Spanish colonizers. There’s also a small but shady Engelmann oak grove set among boulders and a number of short hills to climb for those seeking a workout. I completed a 2.5-mile loop around the preserve, but there are a variety of crisscrossing trails there, so hikers should feel encouraged to choose their own adventure. That may mean following suggested options on an app like AllTrails, or referring to a map on the southern side of the preserve to help select the return path. Maura Fox / The San Diego Union-TribuneThe flat and wide trail through the open space, heading south. Wright’s Field — and Alpine more generally — is steeped in history. The Kumeyaay people used the area’s grasslands for food supply for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. Then, the colonizers raised cattle on the land and planted other nonnative crops, which destroyed Kumeyaay food sources, according to the Alpine Historical Society. Mexican ranchos later operated on the land until the mid-1800s, after which it was used for homesteading for several decades. The nonprofit Back Country Land Trust acquired the first sections of the field in 1995 and today it’s also protected under San Diego County’s Multiple Species Conservation Program. To begin the hike, park along South Grade Road, between Via Viejas and Calle de Compadres. There is only road-side parking, so use caution when crossing the street to get to the trailhead. I did a counter-clockwise loop around the preserve, including a mix of the Native Grasslands Trail, Mesa Del Arroz Trail and the Jackass Mail Trail. From the trailhead, I followed a slightly narrow path off to the right and began walking west. The trail begins to gradually climb so hikers have a view looking down at the grassland. At the 0.2-mile mark, hikers will reach an intersection; go right to head north. The trail begins to descend toward the backside of the field. It’s a bit steep and slick, but at the half-mile mark, the trail levels out as hikers begin walking north, near a private property fence. Maura Fox / The San Diego Union-TribuneAfter hiking for half a mile, hikers will reach an intersection and should head north. Sections of the trail are overgrown, so keep your eyes peeled for rattlesnakes and other critters. After a mile, hikers begin to loop back. At 1.2 miles, they will reach a wooden sign for the “Jackass Mail Trail Historic Route,” which was a mail and stagecoach line that ran from San Antonio, Texas, to San Diego in the 1850s. Here, I turned south, walking down a short set of wooden stairs toward some oak trees before reaching a wide and flat trail that crossed the grassland, parallel to the middle school. At 1.5 miles, the trail heads up a steep hill for about 1,000 feet before descending, again toward the flat grassland. For about the last mile, hikers will follow an easy route across the grassland and back to their vehicles. Maura Fox / The San Diego Union-TribuneAt 1.2 miles, at the “Jackass Mail Trail Historic Route” sign, head south toward a small oak grove.