Learn Spanish (Latin America): El caminar descalzo con el chamán puede llegar a ser una experiencia radical. - Walking barefoot with the shaman can become a radical experience.

Using el before an infinitive like caminar emphasizes the action as a noun concept, similar to 'the act of walking' in English. While you could just say Caminar descalzo, adding el makes it sound slightly more deliberate, poetic, or formal, which perfectly fits the spiritual context of walking with a shaman.

Since El caminar is an action, why does it take the adjective descalzo, and why is it masculine singular?

Even though caminar acts as a noun subject here, it is still a verb at its core, so it can take an adjective describing the state of the person performing the action. Because the person walking isn't specified, Spanish defaults to the masculine singular, giving us descalzo.

What nuance does llegar a ser add compared to just saying puede ser?

Llegar a ser translates to 'to become' or 'to get to be.' It emphasizes a process, culmination, or reaching a certain point. While puede ser just means it 'can be' radical, puede llegar a ser implies that through the process of the walk, it has the potential to turn into a radical experience.

Does radical mean exactly the same thing here as it does in English?