Paul-Anton Loss was sixteen years old when he nearly died. Crohn's disease — an autoimmune condition affecting the intestines — had not been treated correctly, and in hospital he came face to face with his own mortality. It became a turning point. As he put it himself: "I almost saw myself dead. So I said — why not start doing what I love?"
What he loved was nature. It had always been that way.
A child of the forest
Paul-Anton grew up on the outskirts of Berlin and never felt connected to the big city. But the forest was right there. His parents encouraged his fascination — before he could walk, he already knew the names of plants, animals, and birds. His mother moved him from a conventional school to a forest school: this child needs to be outside. Three years he spent almost entirely outdoors, winter and summer.
Then came the disease, and with it a clarity that changed everything.
Kungsleden at eighteen
During a six-week summer break, he made his way to Kungsleden. He was eighteen, and it took him four weeks to walk the 400 kilometres. It was the hardest thing he had ever done — the cold, the solitude, having to hold himself together day after day. But it gave him something invaluable: a reason to get up in the morning.
On the trail he met a hiker named Michael who told him about Gröna bandet and suggested he try it — knowing Paul-Anton was still finding his feet in the mountains. It was the recommendation that changed his direction.
Gröna bandet at nineteen
Paul-Anton was nineteen when he set out on Gröna bandet — by his own account the youngest participant at the time. Three months in the Swedish mountains. All the knowledge he had accumulated since childhood as a nature lover and aspiring field biologist transformed the hike into something more than a physical challenge. He could identify birds by their song, knew which plants were edible, understood the ecosystems he was moving through. He was never bored.
Gröna bandet opened doors he could never have imagined. "All the possibilities, all the doors opened for me. It all started with Kungsleden. With one small trip. And now I'm heading to Mongolia."
The advice
Today, at 25, Paul-Anton works as a nature guide, drawing on his knowledge as a biologist. He has seen polar bears, lynx, ibex. Two things he says to anyone who wants to do something similar:
Start with a shorter trail. Kungsleden prepared him for everything that followed — practical experience and mental confidence in one.
You are never too young. Paul-Anton was always the youngest out there — and on Gröna bandet he met families with children of eleven and twelve.
You are never too young or too old. The hardest step is making the decision.
