I would like recommendations on hiking shoes with a lot of room to slide forward. In March I'm going back to Israel and the last trip I had problems on the steep slopes in the desert. Although I had broken in the shoes on the AT around Damascus, which has plenty of steep slopes, this was nothing like the straight-down inclines of the Negev, and tying them tighter didn't help. I ended up cutting the top front off the Merrell's I had, and although it looked weird, it worked. I'm taking them back but if someone has a better suggestion I would appreciate it. Here's the website I'm doing: www.israeltrail.net. This trip I hope to pick up the Jesus Trail, the Golan Trail, and part of the Abraham Path in Jordan. Thanks for any advice.