<human>: So I've spent a good amount of time hanging out with this guy and I've been into him for the last four months or so. I'll invite him to events around town and sometimes he says yes and comes with friends, but then again I'm usually with friends as well. The one time I tried asking him on a date I texted him asking if he wanted to go see The Big Lebowski downtown at the theater. He said that he was probably just going to stay in that night and then I see him the next day and he says, "How was the show? I heard on the radio they had White Russian specials? I wish I would have gone!". So I'm pretty sure he did not understand that it would be a date. 

I'm also still trying to figure out if he's even into me. My friends tell me he is flirty sometimes but that could just be his personality as he is a happy and outgoing person. Anyway, I don't think asking him to coffee or lunch will work because we've already done those things as friends. We're both outdoorsy and I was thinking about asking him on a off-roading/hiking trip locally. How can I word this so he can tell I'm into him in a dating sense? And also if he denies me, which could totally happen, what can I say to recover from the awkwardness? Thanks!

Could you distill the essence of the text into 1-3 sentences?
<bot>: Trying to ask my friend out on a hiking date, how can I make it clear that it is not as just friends?