Why did the prices of basic items become overly expensive during the gold rush?

Because of everybody flocking to the west, buisnesses over here were suffering, and needed to inflate prices in order to stay afloat.

Also, by raising the price on things people needed in order to travel, more people stayed behind, and those that didn't, payed for what they needed even with the outrageous prices.

americans had many intangible advantages. well since the british fought a war far from home military orders, troops, and supplies sometimes took months to reach their destinations, and the british had an extremely difficult objective. they had to persuade the americans to give up their claims of independence, americans had a grand cause: fighting for their rights, their independence and their liberty. this cause is much more just than waging a war to deny independence.

worldwide, 780 million people do not have access to an improved water source. an estimated 2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation (more than 35% of the world's population)